© Staffan Widstrand
Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus)
© Wikipedia / based on information from the IUCN Canid Specialist Group
The arctic fox can be found all the way around the circumpolar north
The arctic fox is very well adapted to the extreme cold of the arctic environment and can be found all around the Arctic.
In winter, the arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) is white, but in the summer its coat becomes thinner and changes to a brown and yellow colour. Some arctic fox have a blue-grey colour, which becomes thinner and changes to a darkish-blue colour in the summer, but this is rare.The arctic fox eats lemmings, arctic hares and some birds and bird eggs. But their main source of food is the lemming and their population size fluctuates with the cycle of the lemming population.
Interesting fact
Arctic foxes are monogamous, and each pair establishes a territory, or home range, which they use for several years. They also have more young per litter than any wild mammal in the world.
Distribution
The arctic fox are found in the tundra zone all the way around the Arctic.
Threats
The conservation status of the species is good, except for the Scandinavian mainland population where it is endangered. The total population estimate in Norway, Sweden and Finland is a mere 120 adult individuals.
The larger and more aggressive red fox (Vulpes vulpes) has encroached on arctic fox territory in some areas. Researchers are seeing more interactions between the two species as the warming arctic makes it more hospitable for the red fox, which generally lives in the lower latitudes. This is an indirect threat to the arctic fox as a result of climate change.
Scientific website
World Conservation Union (IUCN) Species Survival Commission, Canid Specialist Group: Arctic Fox (PDF)
Educational website
Hinterland who’s who: Arctic fox