# Arctic Fox Region: Polar Regions Source: https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/arcticfox/ The Arctic fox is a small fox that stays warm in thick white fur. It changes with the seasons: snow-white in winter and brown in summer. Its small, round body is great at holding in heat. ## Quick facts - **Habitat**: It lives on the Arctic tundra and icy plains. - **Diet**: It eats lemmings, birds, eggs, and frozen carcasses. - **Size and weight**: Length 50–75cm, weight 3–8kg. - **Lifespan**: 3–6 years in the wild - **Conservation status**: Least Concern - **Fun facts**: It can survive temperatures as low as -70°C! / It listens for prey moving under the snow, then pounces. ## Learn more ### The Arctic's shapeshifting magician The amazing survival secrets of the Arctic fox ### A little snow fairy A small but tough Arctic hunter - **Size** — 50–75cm including the tail — very small and compact. - **Weight** — 3–8kg, as light as a small dog. - **Habitat** — lives in the frozen Arctic tundra and ice plains. - **Lifespan** — usually 3–6 years in the wild. ### Unfazed even at -70°C The best warm fur coat in the animal kingdom - **Double fur coat** — the densest, thickest fur perfectly blocks the cold wind. - **Small ears and nose** — round and tiny so heat doesn't escape. - **Furry paw pads** — fur grows even on the paw pads, so walking on ice doesn't feel cold. - **Black skin** — the skin beneath the white fur is black, absorbing sunlight well. ### Its color changes like magic A master of perfect hide-and-seek - **Pure white in winter** — blends with the snowfield to avoid predators. - **Brown and gray in summer** — blends naturally among dirt and rocks. - **The secret of transformation** — it's not temperature but shorter daylight that signals the brain to start molting. ### A brilliant diver in the snowfield A hunting method that dives into soft snow - **Listening** — it focuses intently to catch the faint sound of a lemming moving under the thick snow. - **Jumping** — once it pinpoints the prey, it leaps very high into the air. - **Diving** — it dives into the snow at 4 meters per second, but its long, pointed snout keeps it from getting hurt. ### A great 76-day journey An endless-walking Arctic traveler - A young female once crossed 3,500km from Norway to Canada in just 76 days! - At its fastest, it covered 155km in a single day — the fastest speed ever recorded. - When winter food is scarce, it sometimes follows polar bears to feed on the leftover meat. ### A superhero in crisis Red foxes and a warming planet - **Climate change** — as the planet warms and ice melts, the paths for hunting and traveling are disappearing. - **Red foxes moving north** — warmer weather is letting larger red foxes move into the Arctic, taking over homes and food. - **Genetic isolation** — the Scandinavian population declined sharply due to past reckless hunting and faced extinction risk. ## More animals from this region - [Polar Bear](https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/polarbear/) - [Emperor Penguin](https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/penguin/) - [Narwhal](https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/narwhal/) - [Walrus](https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/walrus/) - [Beluga Whale](https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/beluga/) - [Musk Ox](https://spinplanet.app/animals/en/muskox/) --- All images and videos were made with AI to capture each animal's features, so they may look different from the real animals. The animal information comes from public sources and may contain mistakes.