Animals That Turn White in Winter

As temperatures drop and autumn gives way to the seemingly ceaseless snows of winter, some animals in northerly climes exchange their pelage or plumage of summer drab for the purest white. Unlike many white animals associated with the north, such as polar bears and snowy owls, which are white all year, these creatures shift their colors with the seasons. Why this happens is not entirely clear. While camouflage is one evolutionary factor that has selected for seasonally white fur, it is likely that the switch to winter whites confers other advantages as well. Scientists believe that if staying hidden were the only upside, many more snow dwellers would be white, but that is not the case. In fact, most Arctic animals do not change color with the seasons at all, even species closely related to those that do. One theory is that a pale coat may have better insulating properties—because melanin, the substance responsible for colored hair, is absent from white fur, leaving air spaces in the hair shaft.

Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus)

Several species of hares—including the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus), the mountain hare (L. timidus), and the snowshoe hare (L. americanus)—turn from brown or grayish to white in the winter. The color change is thought to be at least partially linked to photoperiod—that is, the amount of light received during the day. As the days shorten, receptors in the retina transmit that information to the hare’s brain, stimulating the replacement of brown hair to white, starting with the extremities. One study has shown that global warming may be a major threat to the survival of these animals. By reducing snow cover, the climatic phenomenon throws a wrench in the timing of the color change, leaving milk-colored animals to conceal themselves against earth-colored surroundings.

Stoat, or short-tailed weasels (Mustela erminea)

Three species of weasels swap their warm summer browns for icy whites: the least weasel (Mustela nivalis), the long-tailed weasel (M. frenata), and the short-tailed weasel, or stoat (M. erminea). The latter species is perhaps best known as the ermine, also the name of its winter fur, which is white except for the black tip of the tail. The uniquely patterned fur was once used to trim the robes of royalty and clergy. Weasels of the same species that live in more southerly climates usually don’t change color, though their more northerly relatives do. In transition zones, some weasels only partially change color, resulting in patchy white-and-brown fur. Interestingly, color-changing weasels have been shown to change color regardless of temperature or location, suggesting that they too rely on photoperiod to cue their molts.

Peary Caribou

A subspecies of caribou native to the High Arctic of Canada and Greenland, Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) exchange their silvery summer coats for white ones with the coming of winter. They are the only subspecies of caribou to undergo such a change. Other subspecies remain brown or gray year-round, though the shades may lighten slightly with the growth of their winter coats. Peary caribou are the smallest subspecies of caribou and, because of their morphological differences, were once considered a separate species.

Collared Lemmings

Lemmings in the genus Dicrostonyx, which comprises an indeterminate number of species, turn from brown or gray in the warmer months to white when the snows come. (They belong to a different genus than true lemmings, which remain brown.) Strangely, they spend most of their time burrowing beneath the snow, which would seem to render camouflage unnecessary. They even grow special winter claws—really extensions of the toe pads—for digging through the drifts to create nests and reach the stems of the Arctic willows upon which they feed. Their skins were once used by Eskimo peoples as clothing embellishments.

Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus)

All three species of ptarmigans—a genus of birds related to grouse, chickens, and pheasants—trade their scalloped brown plumage for white feathers. (They spend spring and fall in a mottled state, matching the patchy snow cover.) The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) turns entirely white, while the willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) and rock ptarmigan (L. muta) retain some black feathers in their tails. Ptarmigans even develop white boots to match; the downy foot covering also helps them to walk atop the snow. The air bubbles in their winter feathers—which may help with insulation—scatter light, making them appear more brightly white than other white birds.

Siberian Hamsters

This is probably the only animal on this list that you can actually keep as a pet. The Siberian hamster, or Dzhungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus), often sold as the “winter white,” will change from a silvery chinchilla shade to mostly white if it is kept in a room that receives natural light. Temperature does not seem to affect the molt.

Arctic Foxes

Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are typically brownish gray in the summer and frosty white in the winter. Weirdly, coastal populations in Alaska and Canada are slate gray and lighten only slightly during the winter. Some of these were introduced to the Aleutian Islands by fur trappers, who could charge more money for their unusually colored coats. Among the main predators of the Arctic fox is its cousin the red fox (V. vulpes). Though the overlap in range was historically rather thin, climate change has allowed the red fox to move farther into the Arctic fox’s icy domain, outcompeting it for food and sometimes eating it.