THE ARCTIC FOX

By: Luke Rosa and Eddie Camacho

The Arctic fox gets as tall as fifty to sixty centimeters long. The Arctic fox weighs seven to fifteen pounds. Their tails are about thirty centimeters long. The Arctic fox's coat protects them from the cold winter. Their fur keeps the fox's temperature up to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The Arctic fox's fur camouflages him in the winter. They change colors from winter to summer. Their fur changes from white to black. If the Arctic ever becomes too cold for the Arctic fox, it can curl up in the snow and cover its nose with its bushy tail to stay warm. The Arctic fox's feet are thicker than most Arctic animals to keep the cold out.

The arctic fox lives in North America, Scandinavia. Asia, on Iceland and on the coasts of Greenland. Sometimes the Arctic fox will travel up to a hundred miles in search of new territory. The Arctic fox lives in dens that are bedded on a hillside, the den is big and has many tunnels. They build it where the drainage is good and were there will be no chance that the spring thaw will flood the burrow.

The Arctic fox eats small mammals but they also eat birds, birds eggs, and the remains of killed animals. In late fall and early winter a fox family will travel together in search of food such as lemmings. When the lemming dies out the Arctic fox becomes a scavenger. Arctic foxes sometimes will follow a polar bear, if it kills a seal, foxes are able to feed on it after the bear has eaten his fill.

The Arctic fox breeds in May. The female is called a vixen. The Arctic usually has five or six pups. The baby fox each weigh one ounce when they are born. Using its muzzle an Arctic fox digs a hole for its pup. The baby foxes are kept warm by the mother fox who never leaves them for a moment. Pups leaves their parents when winter comes.

Sometimes polar bears invade them and kill some Arctic foxes. Trappers killed Arctic foxes for their valuable pelts.