The Arctic Fox is a small fox found commonly in the arctic regions of the world. Measuring a little less than three feet in length, this fox is mottled brown in the summer and pure white in the winter. Adult foxes weigh between six and twenty pounds, though most are closer to six. Its thick fur coat helps insulate it from the freezing temperatures and windswept snow.
The Arctic Fox is the ultimate survivor. It will eat just about anything including insects, small mammals, birds, ducks, geese, eggs, and even an occasional Snowy Owl. Lemmings, small mouse-like mammals are its most common prey. In fact, when populations of Lemmings crash every three or four years, so do populations of foxes. Arctic Foxes will eat berries and seaweed as well. When food is scarce, Arctic Foxes become scavengers. The Arctic Fox is sometimes preyed upon by Polar Bears.
Arctic Fox Vixens (female foxes) can give birth to as many as 25 kits (baby foxes) in the springtime (the largest of any carnivore). Most litters, however, contain between five and eight kits. Both male and female foxes help take care of the young.
While the Arctic Fox is common throughout much of the Arctic region, it is exceedingly rare in the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Sweden and Finland, where populations never recovered from severe overhunting. In addition, recent movements of the Red Fox into Arctic Fox territory (probably as a result of global warming) threatens the Arctic Fox population as well.
Answer the following questions
1 What do Arctic Foxes do when food is scarce?
a Become prey for polar bears
b Eat more berries and seaweed
c Move south
d Become scavengers
2 Which is not true about the size of an Arctic Fox?
a Most are near six pounds
b Some can reach 20 pounds
c They can grow to three feet in length
d Most are close to 20 pounds
3 Populations of Arctic Foxes rise and fall according to…
a the population of lemmings
b the population of polar bears
c the warmth of the summer
d the severity of the winter
4 What does the word “insulate” mean in the sentence below?
Its thick fur coat helps insulate it from the freezing temperatures and windswept snow.
a cool
b catch
c warn
d protect.
5 How often do Arctic Foxes eat Snowy Owls?
a Very often
b Never
c Somewhat often
d Not often
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