The Arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small but resilient creature thriving in the harsh Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Well-adapted to frigid environments, the arctic fox is best known for its thick, warm fur that provides excellent insulation and camouflage. The arctic fox has a large and very fluffy tail. This article delves into the dietary habits of this fascinating animal, exploring what it eats, how it finds food, and how its diet contributes to its survival in one of the world's most challenging environments.
Arctic Fox: Built for the Arctic
Arctic foxes live on the land and sea ice within the Arctic Circle. Winter in the Arctic is unlike winter in most parts of the world. From October to February, the sun never rises to shine warmth and light.
Luckily, these small foxes have some useful adaptations for living in the icy Arctic. An arctic fox's long, fluffy tail acts like a blanket, keeping the fox warm when it wraps the tail around its body to sleep. Their thick fur coat keeps the fox’s body at a toasty 104°F. Their feet also have a layer of thick fur, like built-in snow boots. This helps muffle an arctic fox’s footsteps, making it harder for prey to hear them. And their white coats make it difficult for predators such as wolves, polar bears, and golden eagles to spot them among the ice and snow.
General Dietary Habits
Arctic foxes are not true carnivores; they are omnivores with a flexible diet that includes both meat and plants. As opportunistic feeders, Arctic foxes feed on anything they find, including both alive and dead animals. This dietary flexibility is crucial for survival in an environment where food availability can fluctuate dramatically.
Primary Food Sources
The Arctic fox preys on many small creatures such as lemmings, voles, ringed seal pups, fish, waterfowl, and seabirds. In the rest of their range they predominantly eat lemmings.
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- Lemmings: Lemmings are a staple in the Arctic fox's diet, especially in tundra regions. The white fox's reproduction rates reflect the lemming population density, which cyclically fluctuates every 3-5 years. When lemmings are abundant, the white fox can give birth to 18 pups, but they often do not reproduce when food is scarce.
- Rodents and Voles: Besides lemmings, other small rodents and tundra voles also constitute a significant part of their diet, particularly during summer.
- Birds and Eggs: Foxes denning near rocky cliffs along the seacoast often depend heavily on nesting seabirds such as auklets, puffins, and murres. During April and May, the Arctic fox also preys on ringed seal pups when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. As a major predator of bird eggs, this fox also consumes all species of bird eggs except for the largest species of tundra bird.
- Marine Life: Near coastlines, arctic foxes may feed on fish, seal pups, and sea birds. Arctic foxes may venture out onto the sea ice during winter to feed on remains of seals killed by polar bears.
Seasonal Variations in Diet
The Arctic fox's diet varies with the seasons, adapting to the changing availability of food sources.
- Summer: In summer, the environment bustles with tasty options: voles and other small mammals, birds, frogs, berries, insects, birds’ eggs, and even the feces of other animals.
- Winter: In winter, when food is much harder to find, the crafty canines follow polar bears onto ice floes and scavenge the scraps from the bears’ hunts.
Scavenging and Carrion Consumption
Arctic foxes are resourceful scavengers, feeding on mice, shoreline creatures or the carcasses of seals, whales, reindeer or sheep.They scavenge on carcasses left by larger predators such as wolves and polar bears, and in times of scarcity also eat their feces. During midwinter, foxes lead a mostly solitary existence except when congregating at the carcasses of marine mammals, caribou, or reindeer.
Hunting Techniques
Arctic foxes heavily rely on hunting and catching prey to supplement their diet. However, the majority of their prey lies beneath the snow, making it difficult for them to catch it. The foxes have exceptionally keen hearing. If they detect movement beneath the snow, they wait patiently, cocking their heads back and forth, listening for the lemmings’ squeaks and footfalls. When a fox gets a bead on one, they literally leap into action: they jump several feet straight up in the air and dive snout-first into the snow, often snagging a lemming like a Hot Pocket out of a toaster oven.
Food Storage and Hoarding
Arctic foxes survive harsh winters and food scarcity by either hoarding food or storing body fat subcutaneously and viscerally. When prey is more abundant in warmer months, Arctic foxes store surplus food for the leaner winter months in their dens, which can be vast, multi-chambered homes buried six to 12 feet underground. Among the main characteristics of Arctic foxes is the fact that they store excess food in their dens or under stones. In Canada, Arctic foxes acquire from snow goose eggs at a rate of 2.7-7.3 eggs/h and store 80-97% of them. Scats provide evidence that they eat the eggs during the winter after caching.
Impact on the Arctic Ecosystem
In addition, Arctic foxes contribute to the Arctic ecosystem through their diet. It was discovered in a study conducted on Arctic foxes as ecosystem engineers that foxes play a key role in maintaining Arctic tundra biodiversity. In the soil surrounding fox dens, there was a higher concentration of nutrients than in the soil near nearby control sites. On a local scale, foxes improve nutrient cycling as an ecosystem service.
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Threats to Arctic Foxes
Scarcity of prey, human hunting and pollution from oil and gas drilling are the main threats to the Arctic fox. The Arctic fox is losing ground to the larger red fox. This has been attributed to climate change-the camouflage value of its lighter coat decreases with less snow cover.
Adaptations for Survival
The Arctic fox has many adaptations that help it to survive the extreme temperatures of the Arctic. Among its adaptations for survival in the cold is its dense, multilayered pelage, which provides excellent insulation. To prevent heat loss, the Arctic fox curls up tightly tucking its legs and head under its body and behind its furry tail. This position gives the fox the smallest surface area to volume ratio and protects the least insulated areas. Arctic foxes also stay warm by getting out of the wind and residing in their dens. Although the Arctic foxes are active year-round and do not hibernate, they attempt to preserve fat by reducing their locomotor activity.
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