Arctic Fox: At Home in the Frigid Cold of the Arctic Circle

Winter temperatures in the Arctic can drop as low as a numbing -58 degrees Fahrenheit, much to cold for most to be out running around in.  That is unless, you happen to be an Arctic Fox.

Also called the “Snow Fox” and “White Fox,” the Arctic Fox has incredibly thick, dense fur, a good supple of body fat, thick tail, fury paws for warmth and the pads of its feet remain at core temperature.  These features allow the Arctic Fox to be able to survive the bone chilling winds and freezing grounds when searching on the ice.

Characteristics of the Arctic Fox

• Body is round in shape
• Short, thick ears
• Short muzzle and legs
• Furry Paws
• Thick furry tail, that makes up nearly 35% of its total body length.
• White Fur in the winter
• Brown or grey fur in the summer
• Height at shoulders 10 to 12 inches
• Weight ranges 6 to 10 pounds

Native to the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Fox’s territories include Greenland, northern Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta, Russia, northern and western Alaska and northern Canada to the Northeast Territories.  They are also the only land mammal that is native to Iceland.  

The Arctic Fox is a scavenger, it will eat whatever meat is available, fresh or not.  This includes bird eggs, small rodents and mammals such as the Arctic Hare, voles, squirrels and its main source of food, lemmings.  If an Arctic fox in unable to catch its own food, it will eat on the remains a wolf or Polar Bear has left behind.

Mating takes place between February and early May, if successful their will be a 53 day gestation period. Female Arctic Foxes have large litters of pups, as many as 15 of them. When born the pups are brownish is color, as they get older their fur will begin to turn white.

The pups rely on their mother for food until one month of age, when they begin to eat meat, weaning takes 1 ½ to 2 months. Both parents take part is raising, discipline and getting food for the pups. An Arctic Fox will reach sexual maturity at 9 to 10 months of age. Unfortunately, of a 15 pup litter, very few of them will live past their first year.


Predators of the Arctic Fox include the mighty Polar bear, Golden Eagles, Snowy Owls, wolves and Red Foxes. Disease is always a threat with distemper and rabies being the worse. Man is another predator, killing the Arctic Fox to sell its much sought after fur. Although the overall population of the Arctic fox is not threatened there are two sub-specie populations that are in danger of becoming extinct. There are the ones located on Medny Island in Russia and the other is the Fennoscandia population located in Norway Finland and Sweden. An Arctic fox living in the wild has an average lifespan of 3 to 6 years.