Arctic Fox

Taxonomic name: Vulpes lagopus

Type: Mammal

Conservation Status: Least Concern (IUCN)

Wild Range: Circumpolar in Arctic tundra habitat, including: Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States

Diet: Carnivore: Lemmings, voles, hares, birds, seals, fish.

Size: Body length: 41 - 68 cm

Weight: 1.4 - 9.2 kg (males heavier than females)

Fun Facts:

  • Arctic fox go through a dramatic coat transformation each year, turning white each winter and brown in the summer to help camouflage against their changing surroundings. Their winter coat also keeps them warm through the frigid Arctic winter.
  • Arctic fox are known to scavenge carcasses left behind by polar bears and wolves.
  • Arctic fox can have litters of up to a record 25 pups, the largest litter size of any canid.

Find the Zoo's arctic foxes in the Journey to Churchill and Boeal sections.