Animals
What's the basic overview of an arctic fox?
The arctic fox is a rather small carnivore that lives in burrows in the tundra. They can stand temperatures as low as –58°F (-50°C).
Where do they live?
The arctic fox is a rather small fox that lives mainly in the northern parts of the world. They usually make their homes inland and avoid the coasts. The areas of the world they live in are Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Russia, Norway, Scandinavia, and even Iceland!
What do they eat?
Mainly, arctic foxes will eat any small animal they can find. This includes all kinds
Arctic Fox
This map shows the range of arctic foxes. The green parts are where they live.
of things, including lemmings, voles, rodents in general, hares, birds, bird eggs, and fish. Sometimes they'll eat carrion, and if they can't find any other food, they eat their own poop. However, they mainly eat lemmings. In some parts of northern Canada, the coast of Iceland, and other islands, their diet mainly consists of birds. During certain months, they'll also prey on ringed seal pups. They don't only eat meat, however; they also eat berries and seaweed.
Arctic foxes also have some interesting habits with food. When there's lots of food to be found, they will bury some food in the ground so that they will be able to eat it later when food becomes less abundant.
What do they look like?
They have thick white fur to prevent themselves from freezing to death in the cold tundra region, are rather small and short, and also have a short muzzle and four short legs. Even their ears, despite being rather thick, are short. However, these small ears give them very keen hearing - they can determine the exact location of an animal scurrying under the snow just by listening to it.
Their fur color changes throughout the year. For most of the year, they'll maintain a white fur color so that they can blend in with their snowy surroundings, but when the snow melts in summer they actually 'shed' their white fur and grow brown fur instead. Some arctic foxes have a gray fur color with a hint of blue instead. These foxes were hunted a lot and are now protected.
This image shows the height of a 6-foot man in relation to an arctic fox.
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What about their homes?
Arctic foxes live in burrows and large dens. These massive homes consist mainly of complex networks of tunnels and can span 1,200 square feet and have around 100 entrances. Many of them have existed for multiple decades and have housed many generations of arctic foxes. And yes, they live in groups.
How do arctic foxes reproduce?
There's a breeding season for arctic foxes, which is when they focus on finding a mate. Most arctic foxes mate just once during the breeding season, and some breed for life. The female is pregnant for an average of 52 days before giving birth to the fox pups - usually five to eight, but occasionally a fox will give birth to twenty-five pups!
Once the pups have been born, both the mother and father will raise their pups. The young arctic foxes will leave the burrow when they are four weeks old and start hunting and caring for themselves when they are around nine weeks old.
How are they in trouble?
Arctic foxes are classified within many different organizations as "Least Concern", but don't be fooled. These foxes are in some serious danger. They're losing more and more territory to red foxes. Their icy homelands are in danger thanks to global warming. In addition, the creatures they usually prey upon are becoming scarce. But one of the biggest threats to survival is hunting. Arctic foxes are being hunted for their fur. Their numbers have been seriously dwindling over the past few years.
How can I help?
The best way is to donate money to the WWF. They have a special project going to protect endangered animals, stop global warming, and do all kinds of things - and they could easily benefit from your donation. If you don't think donating is the right option, try to spread the word about the endangered species of the world. That's what I tried to do with this site, and that's what you can do, too.