Fox (Arctic) - Overview

Order: Carnivora

Family: Canidae

Species: Vulpes lagopus

IUCN Red List Status: Least concern

Population trend: stable

Distribution: They live in Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, Iceland, Greenland and North America and used to be common in southern Europe including France, Britain, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland.

Description: Arctic foxes have short, compact bodies and thick fur which changes colour from greyish-brown in the summer to pure white in the winter.

Size: average length is 50-65cm (3 feet) from nose to tail and 25 to 30cm tall. They weigh between 4.5-8kg  and the female is smaller than the male.

Life-Span: 5 to 7 years.

Food: The arctic fox is the main predator in the arctic feeding on birds, small mammals, including seal pups, and carcasses left behind by polar bears. An average family of 11 arctic foxes can eat 60 rodents per day during the summer. Coastal arctic foxes will also eat shellfish, sea urchins and other invertebrates.

In the summer, the arctic fox may hide food in a den or push it into rock crevices until the winter. They will mark their store with scent so that they can find it again under the snow.