Arctic fox facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arctic fox |
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| Vulpes lagopus |
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The Arctic fox (Valpes lagopus) is an omnivorous (meat-eating and plant-eating) member of the Canidae family. The Arctic fox can also be called the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox. It lives in the Arctic tundra habitats of northern Europe, northern Asia, and North America. The Arctic fox is found at elevations up to 9,800 ft. (3,000 m.) above sea level and has been seen on sea ice close to the North Pole. Natural predators of the Arctic fox are golden eagles, Arctic wolves, polar bears, wolverines, red foxes, and grizzly bears.
Contents
Anatomy
The Arctic fox is about 10-12 inches high (25–30 cm) and it weighs from 6.5 to 21 pounds (2.7-4.5 kg). The females tend to be smaller than the males. The Arctic fox has a round body shape, a short nose and legs, and short fluffy ears. This small round shape means that less of its body surface is exposed to the cold, which helps to keep it warm. It has a deep, thick fur which is brown in summer and white in winter. The pups are born with brown fur which changes to white as they get older.
There are two genetically different coat color morphs: white and blue. In the winter, the white morph is white and turns brown along the back with light grey around the abdomen in summer. The blue morph is often a dark blue, brown, or grey color year-round. 99% of the Arctic fox population is the white morph. The white morph mainly lives inland (away from the sea) and blends in with the snowy tundra, while the blue morph lives near the coast because its darker color blends in with the cliffs and rocks.
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Arctic fox in winter fur, Iceland
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Arctic fox
Adaptations
Arctic foxes must endure temperatures outside that are extremely different from their internal core temperature. To prevent heat loss, the Arctic fox curls up tightly, tucking its legs and head under its body and behind its furry tail. Arctic foxes also stay warm by getting out of the wind and staying in their dens.
Arctic foxes do not hibernate. They grow thicker fur in the autumn and put on more than 50% of their body weight as fat for insulation and as saved-up energy. The fur of the Arctic fox provides the best insulation of any mammal. It is the only fox that has fur on its paws. Its broad, fluffy paws let it walk on ice and snow to look for food.
The Arctic fox has such good hearing that it can hear small animals under the snow. When it hears an animal under the snow, it jumps and punches through the snow to catch its victim.
Arctic foxes also have a keen sense of smell. They can smell carcasses that are often left by polar bears as far away as 6 to 24 miles.
Homes
Arctic foxes live in large dens in frost-free, slightly raised ground. These are complex systems of tunnels covering as much as 1,200 sq yds (1,000 m2) and are often in eskers, which are long ridges of sedimentary material deposited in areas where there used to be glaciers. These dens may be in existence for decades and are used by many generations of foxes.
Arctic foxes tend to choose dens that are easy to enter. There are many openings and dens are clear from snow and ice, making them easier to burrow in. The Arctic fox builds and chooses dens that face southward toward the sun, which makes the den warmer. Arctic foxes prefer large, maze-like dens so that they can more easily escape predators.
Diet
Arctic foxes are omnivores. They eat lemmings, Arctic hares, fish, birds, eggs, fruit, insects, small seals, and carrion. They scavenge on carcasses left by larger predators as well. Their main prey is lemmings, and a family of foxes can eat dozens of lemmings each day. They also eat berries and seaweed, so they are considered omnivores. This fox eats all bird eggs except the largest tundra bird species. When they have more food than they need, the Arctic fox buries (caches) the extra to store for later.
Reproduction
Arctic foxes form pairs in the breeding season. Breeding usually takes place in April and May. It takes 53 days for the pups to grow in the mother before they are born. The mother can produce 5-8 cubs, and sometimes as many as 25 cubs, depending on the availability of food. Both the mother and the father help to raise their young pups. The young come out of the den when they are about 3 to 4 weeks old and are weaned by 9 weeks of age. Arctic foxes live for about 3 to 6 years.
Conservation status
Overall, the conservation status of the species is good. Several hundred thousand individuals are estimated to remain. The IUCN given the Arctic fox the status of "least concern."
The larger red fox is catching up in numbers to the Arctic fox. Scientists think that climate change could be the reason. When there is less snow cover, the Arctic fox is not as camouflaged as when there is more snow on the ground.
New Zealand does not allow Arctic foxes to be brought into the country. In their Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, New Zealand classed the Arctic fox as a "prohibited new organism."
Conservation status
The Arctic fox has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. However, the Scandinavian mainland population is acutely endangered, despite being legally protected from hunting and persecution for several decades. The estimate of the adult population in all of Norway, Sweden, and Finland is fewer than 200 individuals. Of these, especially in Finland, the Arctic fox is even classified as critically endangered, because even though the animal was pacified in Finland since 1940, the population has not recovered despite that. As a result, the populations of Arctic fox have been carefully studied and inventoried in places such as the Vindelfjällens Nature Reserve (Sweden).
The pelts of Arctic foxes with a slate-blue coloration were especially valuable. They were transported to various previously fox-free Aleutian Islands during the 1920s. The program was successful in terms of increasing the population of blue foxes, but their predation of Aleutian Canada geese conflicted with the goal of preserving that species.
The Arctic fox is losing ground to the larger red fox. This has been attributed to climate change—the camouflage value of its lighter coat decreases with less snow cover.
The world population of Arctic foxes is thus not endangered, but two Arctic fox subpopulations are. One is on Medny Island (Commander Islands, Russia), which was reduced by some 85–90%, to around 90 animals, as a result of mange caused by an ear tick introduced by dogs in the 1970s. The population is currently under treatment with antiparasitic drugs, but the result is still uncertain.
The other threatened population is the one in Fennoscandia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Kola Peninsula). This population decreased drastically around the start of the 20th century as a result of extreme fur prices, which caused severe hunting also during population lows.
Interesting facts about Arctic Foxes
- Arctic foxes are about the size of domestic cats.
- They use their tails, which are around 13 inches (33 centimeters) long, to help them balance and as a blanket.
- Arctic foxes mate for life. Both parents raise the pups.
- As of now, there is no danger of extinction for Arctic foxes.
- Arctic foxes will eat almost anything.
- They have been seen hiding food under rocks for the future.
- Sweden has the Arctic fox as its symbol.
- The Arctic fox is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, preventing it from being imported into the country.
Images for kids
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Pups of Arctic fox with summer morph
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Arctic fox lying in the grass. A fox's thick winter coat helps keep its body temperature near 100 °F (38 °C). Foxes also have fur on the soles of their feet and reduced blood flow to their legs to help keep them warm.
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Blue phase, Pribilof Islands
See also
In Spanish: Zorro polar o Zorro Ártico para niños
