Ian
priscilla 1Arctic Fox
December 7th 2007 10:51
The Arctic fox has evolved to live in the most frigid extremes on the planet. Among its adaptations for cold survival are its deep, thick fur, a system of counter current heat exchange in the circulation of paws to keep them from freezing, and a good supply of body fat. The fox has a low surface-area-to-volume ratio as evidenced by its generally rounded body shape, short muzzle and legs, and short, thick ears. Since less of its surface area is exposed to the cold, less heat escapes the body. Its furry paws allow it to walk on ice floors in search of food. It is also able to walk on top of snow and listen for the movements of prey underneath. It has the warmest fur of any mammal. The thick fur on the fox helps keep him or her warm.
The Arctic fox will generally eat any meat it can find, including lemmings, Arctic hares, herps, eggs, and carrion. Lemmings are the most common prey. A family of foxes can eat dozens of lemmings each day. During April and May the Arctic fox also preys on ringed seal kits when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. When its normal prey is scarce, the Arctic fox scavenges the leftovers of larger predators, such as polar bears, even though the bears' prey includes the Arctic fox itself.
The habitat of the Arctic fox spans coastal to inland tundra areas. The white morph is generally associated with true tundra habitat, the blue more with coastal habitat.
*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.
**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Arctic fox.
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