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Arctic Fox

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Arctic Fox in summer coat looking for eggs and birds

The Arctic Fox is a small white fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The Arctic fox is commonly found in the colder parts of Canada, Alaska, Northern Asia and Europe. The Arctic fox is also commonly known as the Snow fox or the White fox due to the fact that the Arctic fox has white fur and spends a great deal of time in the cold snow.

The Arctic fox has extremely thick winter fur, which is apparently the warmest fur of all the mammals. The thick fur of the Arctic fox is definitely an essential for the Arctic fox to continue dwelling successfully in the harsh Arctic terrain where temperatures regularly fall below minus 40 degrees Celsius.

The Arctic fox tends to prey on lemmings, hares, reptiles, amphibians and occasionally vulnerable seal pups that are not close to their herd. The Arctic fox makes its den far under the surface of the ground, and can amazingly withstand temperatures of up to minus 50 degrees Celsius.

As with many animals that inhabit the Arctic regions, the fur of the Arctic fox changes colour to adapt to its surroundings accordingly. In the winter, the Arctic fox has thick, white fur which allows the Arctic fox to remain warm and camouflaged in its snowy surroundings. In the summer months, the fur of the Arctic fox changes to a brown colour as there the snow will have melted. This newly coloured brown fur of the Arctic fox, allows the Arctic fox to remain as inconspicuous as possible whilst there is no snow in the Arctic during the summer months.

As one of the larger carnivores in the Arctic Circle, the Arctic fox has few natural predators within it\'s freezing environment. Polar bears, wolf packs and humans are only real predators of the adult Arctic fox, along with large birds of prey such as snowy owls, that primarily prey on the smaller and more vulnerable Arctic fox cubs.

The female Arctic fox gives birth to and raises her cubs in the safety of her den, which is a network of tunnels often underground. After a gestation period of a couple of months, the female Arctic fox gives birth to up to 15 cubs which are born at the start of summer and after being nursed by their mother, are fairly independent by the time the Arctic winter starts again.

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Arctic Fox Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Mammalia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Carnivora
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Canidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Alopex

Scientific Name:	Alopex Lagopus
Type:	Mammal
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (L):	70cm - 110cm (28in - 43in)
Weight:	1.4kg - 9.4kg (3lbs - 21lbs)
Top Speed:	45km/h (30mph)
Life Span:	7 - 10 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	White, Black, Grey
Skin Type:	Fur
Favourite Food:	Lemmings
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Polar forest regions
Average Litter Size:	5
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Lemmings, Berries, Insects
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Snowy Owl, Wolf, Polar Bear
Distinctive Features:	Thick fur that changes colour with season