Arctic Fox Animal| Habitat
Arctic Fox Animal, The arctic fox is a small carnivorous mammal native to the circumpolar regions of Eurasia and North America. It belongs to the family Canidae and subfamily Arctonyx. This species is known by several common names including Arctic wolf, short-tailed weasel, long-tailed weasel, and red fox. Its scientific name, Vulpes lagopus, derives from Latin vulpis (“fox”) and lagus (“dog”).
The arctic fox lives in tundra and taiga ecosystems, where it hunts lemmings and rodents. It is omnivorous, eating plants, berries, insects, fish, carrion, birds’ eggs, and occasionally small mammals. In winter, it subsists almost entirely on fat reserves stored during the summer.
In some areas, such as Canada, the United States, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, Eswatini, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait,
Behavior
The foxes live a communal and no mad life, often forming small groups to scavenge the countryside for food. They don’t hibernate during winter months. Foxes also construct homes known as dens, often in cliffs over 1.6 kilometers apart, where a family social group inhabits. This group consists of one adult male, litter, and two females – one of the females a nonbreeding animal born the previous year that stays to help raise the next litter. Arctic foxes generally make their den in a low mound up to four meters high in the open tundra, or in a pile rock at the base of a steep cliff. These dens have 4-10 entrances and a system of tunnels covering approximately 30 square meters.
Food Habits
The arctic fox is a carnivorous mammal native to the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. They are known to prey upon many different animals including rodents, rabbits, hares, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Their primary diet consists mainly of mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, ground squirrels, marmots, raccoons, rats, bats, snakes, frogs, lizards, turtles, and birds. In addition to eating meat, they also consume plants and fungi. During the winter, they eat primarily lemmings, while during the summer they eat mainly grasshoppers.
How arctic foxes are extremely well-adapted to the harsh, frigid temperatures of the Arctic.
Arctic foxes (Vulpella lagopus) are among the most common mammals in the Arctic region. They live in arctic tundra ecosystems, where they hunt small rodents such as lemmings and voles, eat lichens and mosses, and scavenge carrion. They also eat berries, insects, fish, eggs, and occasionally plants. Arctic foxes generally sleep during the day and rest in burrows or dens during the night.
Which family does arctic fox belong to?
The Arctic fox is one of the most common wild mammals in Alaska, Canada and Greenland. These small carnivores are closely related to gray wolves and red foxes. Their closest relatives include the mink, raccoon dog and skunk.
Fantastic arctic fox: animal walks 3,500km from Norway to Canada
An arctic fox has walked almost 2,000 miles across the Arctic Ocean from Norway to Canada – making it one of the longest distance walkers ever recorded. The rare creature was tracked by scientists at the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), who found it had travelled from the Svalbard islands off Norway’s coast to the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The fox, named “Arctic Fox”, survived temperatures of minus 50C during its journey, according to NPI.
The team placed a GPS collar around the animal’s neck in July 2017, allowing them to follow its movements. After 21 days and 1 512 kilometers out on the sea ice the fox landed in Greenland on 16th April 2018.
After spending three weeks in Greenland, the fox returned home to the Svalbard Islands on 25 May 2018. During its incredible journey, the fox covered a total distance of about 5,600 km.
Life History
Arctic foxes live in groups called colonies. A group consists of one adult female and her offspring. In addition to protection against predators, the mother provides food for her young. She digs a den under snow and ice near water, where she raises her young. The cubs emerge from the den about four weeks after birth. At 10 days old, they begin eating solid foods. By 14 days, their eyes open; at 20 days, they start running around the den. At three months, the cubs leave the den and join the rest of the colony. They remain with their mothers until they reach sexual maturity at five to seven months. Arctic foxes breed during the long winter months, usually between November and April. Pregnant females give birth in dens excavated by themselves or the parents. Dens are typically located near water sources such as streams, ponds, lakes, rivers, marshes, swamps, seashores, and estuaries. Foxes use dens for raising young, hibernating, resting, and denning. The average litter size is three to five kits. Kits weigh about 3 pounds each at birth and grow rapidly, reaching full adult weight within four weeks. Kit weaning occurs at approximately 4 weeks old. Young foxes begin hunting small rodents soon after weaning. Foxes reach sexual maturity around 2½ years old. Females become sexually receptive at about 10 months old. Males become sexually mature at about 15 months old.