arctic foxes

Arctic Foxes

The fox from the Arctic (AO 1945: fox from the Arctic; Alopex lagopus), also known as fox-polar, is a fox small inhabitant of the Northern Hemisphere. Although some classifiers to relate to the genus Vulpes, this animal is currently regarded as the only member of the genus Alopex.

Description 

It measures 50 cm to 1 meter long and has 28 cm to the shoulders. Weigh a 2.5- to 7 kg. Live 3 to 10 years and reaches maturity at 10 months.

The coat fox varies according to the season, white in winter and brown-brown in summer. The external fox by layer covers a dense and thick lower by layer. It has small ears coated so they help retain heat. The legs are relatively large to prevent the animal from sinking into the soft snow and have the woolly in paws which functions as insulation and slip-resistant. The tail is short, thick, dense, up to 30 cm in length. 

Behavior 

The Arctic foxes run great distances, some more 2.300km, every year in search of food. They mate with the same pair throughout life. When they are breeding, they share the territory with other couples, usually building plays in a sheltered area with no ice or between rocks. These burrows are complex constructions, getting to have 250 entries. Some have been continuously used throughout more than 300 years. The fox uses play as a hiding place against bad weather, pantry to store leftover food, shelter for the young or to escape predators. However, they do not hibernate in these burrows. When the weather is very bad, digging a pit in the snow, curls up and wraps his tail around the feet and legs to warm up.

Power 

Foxes Arctic hunt lemmings, mice and other small mammals. Also catch crabs and fish on the coast, as well as seabirds and their eggs. The carrion is an important part of your diet; they follow the polar bears to feast on the remains of their slaughter of seals. The Arctic foxes also eat berries. In times of plenty, store the leftover meat in their dens, aligning neatly birds or mammals headless corpses. These reserves are consumed in the winter months.

Reproduction 

In early summer, a couple of Arctic foxes produces a litter of on average six to ten young. The period of arctic fox gestation lasts 50 days. Parents and occasionally other helpers females treat the offspring. They are weaned at about 9 weeks and leave the play with 15 weeks. During his stay in the nest, the young and their parents eat about 4000 lemmings, their favorite prey.

The number of arctic foxes depends on the availability of food and varies according to the number of their prey.

Habitat 

The fox from the Arctic live in northern Europe, Asia and America, Greenland and Iceland. Mostly found in the Arctic and alpine tundra, and also near the coast.