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Arctic fox, blue fox - ALOPEX LAGOPUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Fox": "Fox" is an Old English word for the animal.
Location: Arctic and tundra regions of North America, Eurpoe, and Asia.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Tundra and ice.
Description: This fox has short legs and a snub face. The soles of its feet are covered with long hair in the winter, enabling it to walk more easily in fresh snow. The coat is white, except for a few black hairs on the tip of the tail, in winter. Some Arctic foxes have two color phases in summer. First the coat turns cream-colored with darker color on the back; in the second, the "blue" phase, it takes on various grayish, dark bluish hues. The head and body are about 20 to 28 inches long with the tail adding 12 to 16 inches. They may weigh anywhere from six to twenty pounds.
Behavior: The blue fox lives in burrows, and is mostly nocturnal. It is a monogamous species; pairs remain together throughout the breeding season and perhaps longer. There is a high mortality rate because of the harsh climatic conditions. It feeds on anything edible: garbage, reindeer droppings, carrion, rodents, birds, eggs, hares, and even berries, Migratory movements may take the Arctic fox several hundred miles from the lair where the young are born.
Reproduction: Mating takes place in May or June. After a gestation of 50 to 60 days, three or four cubs are born, although litters up to ten have been reported.
Go to the Carnivore Page to learn more about all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Fox Index to study other
foxes.
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