![]() body parts are source of valuable material.On the Pribiloff Islands of Alaska, arctic foxes have been regularly farmed for their fur since 1865, and they have long been important to the economy of the native people living withing their range. The fur of the arctic fox is prized by the fur industry, and these foxes have been intensively trapped. During the summer months, when food is much more readily available, arctic foxes collect a surplus amount of food and carries it back to their dens, where it is stored under stones for later use. For populations living more inland and in the summer, the diet consists mostly of lemmings. Generally, its winter diet consists of marine mammals, invertebrates, sea birds, fish, and seals. Although it prefers small mammals, it will eat insects, berries, carrion, and even the stool of animals or human beings. The arctic fox is an opportunistic feeder, eating practically any animal, alive or dead. Some of these dens have been used for centuries by generations of foxes. These dens have 4-8 entrances and a system of tunnels covering about 30 square meters. This group consists of one adult male, the litter, and two vixens-one of the vixens a nonbreeding animal born the previous year that stays to help care for the next litter.Īn arctic fox generally makes its den in a low mound 1-4 meters high in the open tundra, or in a pile of rocks at the base of a cliff. Foxes also construct homes called dens, often in cliffs at least 1.6 km apart, in which a family social group inhabits. They do not hibernate during the winter months. The foxes live a communal and nomadic life, often forming small bands to scavenge the countryside for food. post-independence association with parents.Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male).Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female).gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate).He mates with the female a few weeks after the first litter is born. The male parent stays with the cubs, helping to feed them. They reach sexual maturity in as little as ten months. The young are weaned at about 2-4 weeks and emerge from the den. The usual litter size is 5-8 cubs, although as many as 25 have been known. The number of young per litter varies with the availability of food, especially lemmings. The average gestation period is about 49-57 days. Mating occurs from April to July, births take place from April through June for the first litter, and July or August for the second litter. Average basal metabolic rate 7.665 W AnAgeĪrctic foxes are monogamous and usually mate for life.( Angerbjörn, et al., 2005)Īrctic foxes are found mainly in arctic and alpine tundra, usually in coastal areas. Arctic foxes are found in the treeless tundra extending through the arctic regions of Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and Iceland.
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