THE ARCTIC FOX

Christopher Luu

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract 3
The Arctic Fox 3
Potential Threats to the Arctic Fox 4
Climate Change 4
Hunting 5
Captive Breeding 5
Conservation Efforts 5
Working Towards a Greener Earth 5
Hunting Regulation 6
Illegal Fur Farms 6
Conclusion 6
References 7

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this document is to inform the reader about the Artic fox. This document will educate the
reader about the Artic fox as well as informing the reader of the potential threats to the species’ population.
The Artic fox is not an endangered species, nor is it a species near endangerment. It does however face
threats such as captive breeding, hunting, disease, and climate change. This puts the Arctic fox on the IUCN
Red List, a comprehensive list made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) works to mitigate climate change to ensure that the Artic fox, as well as other species,
are not affected by the climate changes. The WWF has been working to reduce the emissions that cause
climate change for several decades now.

THE ARCTIC FOX

The Arctic foxes’ diets consist of small rodents, birds, leftover scraps from a Polar Bear’s meal, and vegetables
if available. The main prey of the Arctic fox is the Lemming. The Arctic fox heavily relies on the Lemming as a
food source to the point where the population of the Arctic fox wavers with the population of Lemmings. The
population of the Arctic fox is currently stable. The population is estimated to be somewhere around the
several hundred thousand range. However, on the IUCN Red List, the Arctic fox is categorized as “Least
Concern” meaning that the chance of extinction is relatively low, but not out of the question. The Arctic fox,
Vulpes Lagopus, is a small creature that lives in the tundra. The tundra is a treeless plain in the Arctic regions
of North America, Europe, and Asia. On average, the Arctic fox is about 11 inches tall, 18 to 27 inches long,
and 3 to 20 pounds heavy. A healthy individual will live for 3 to 6 years.

Figure 1: An Arctic Fox

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POTENTIAL THREATS TO THE ARCTIC FOX
The Arctic fox species is not threatened by many things. Climate change is most likely to be the biggest threat
to the Arctic fox. The tundra is the most affected region by the increasing global temperature. The higher
temperatures in the Arctic could potentially cause a cascading effect, affecting every species inhabiting the
tundra. Other threats of the Arctic fox include hunting and captive breeding. Both of which are due to the
Arctic fox having an appealing coat of fur. Because of this fur, Arctic foxes are often hunted and bred for their
pelts for trade.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Because the Arctic fox lives in the tundra, its living conditions are affected by climate change. Due to rising
temperatures there are many changes occurring in the Arctic. Glaciers are breaking apart and melting causing
sea levels to rise. Snow melts and refreezes constantly, creating an ice crust on the terrain. This prevents
some animals from being able to reach their food sources.

Figure 2: This figure show that temperature in the Arctic have increased by 6.6°C in the past 38 – 67 years

The increase in temperature can have cascading effects in the Arctic ecosystem. Warmer temperatures and
wet snow may cause the snow to collapse on top of living areas for small rodents. These areas are where
Lemmings and Voles, prey of the Arctic fox, live and forage for food. This would cause a decrease in the
population of prey for the Arctic fox, causing the Arctic fox to be forced to look for new prey or suffer from
the lack of food, resulting in a population decline.

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HUNTING

The Inuit are a group of people who have similar cultures that live in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, and
Greenland. The Inuit hunt the Arctic fox for their high-quality pelts and meat. The tails were made into neck
warmers and the pelts were sold for a high price. The meat of the Arctic foxes was used scarcely, often used
as emergency food, or food for dogs. The Inuit would use a variety of traps to capture the Arctic foxes.
Common methods included pitfalls and deadfalls. Pitfalls were deep holes that were covered on the surface,
often having sharp sticks and antlers to injure the fox if it fell in the trap. Deadfalls were traps, when
triggered, would drop stones on top of the animal, crushing it. Other methods included simply trapping a fox
that become comfortable leaving and exiting a man-made trap. Afterwards, steel traps were introduced, and
the previous methods became obsolete. Steel traps would crush the leg of the fox, preventing it from
escaping, where it would either die of starvation, or the hunter would come to kill the fox themselves.

CAPTIVE BREEDING

Because the Arctic fox has high-quality pelts that are often sought, there are cases where Arctic foxes are
captured and bred to produce large amounts of pelts for trade. A video of a fur farm in Western Finland
circulated the internet recently and gathered the attention of many news websites and animal protection
organizations like PETA. The video shows obese Arctic foxes in poor living conditions. The Arctic foxes were
overweight, reported to be five times heavier than the average Arctic fox. The cages were small, and the
foxes suffered from joint issues as well as eye health problems. Finland has strict rules and regulations for the
breeding of animals. A fur farm like this would be considered illegal, due to the Arctic foxes being raised in
conditions that would cause them to suffer

CONSERVATION EFFORTS
The conservation of the Arctic fox is not critical compared to some other species that face endangerment or
extinction. This however does not mean that steps cannot be taken to ensure that the population of the
Arctic fox will stay healthy. There are many solutions already in place that will help the conservation of the
Arctic fox. These solutions are not for the Arctic fox exclusively, but rather for other purposes, such as
decreasing emissions and persevering natural environments.

WORKING TOWARDS A GREENER EARTH

The WWF has been participating in the fight to reduce emissions that speed up the climate change. Working
with government officials, businesses, and millions of support Americans, the WFF continues to prepare for
climate change and mitigate the effect on the environment and its’ inhabitants. Plans such as the Paris
Agreement are already in place. The purpose of the Paris Agreement is to strength the global response to
climate change. The goal is to keep the global temperature increase less than 2°C for the century. This
agreement went into effect in November of 2016 and has since garnered an extensive list of mandates to
work on to achieve said goal. There’s much more to the agreement as well, at best, the Paris Agreement
wishes to keep the century’s temperature increase as low as 1.5°C. The goal has a deadline of 2020 which is
also a deadline for submitting more long-term plans.

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HUNTING REGULATION

Previously, the Arctic fox was commonly hunted due to the high-quality of its’ pelt. Fur trading was a lucrative
business around the 1600’s but fur trade has decreased dramatically since then, leaving the Arctic fox
population to restore itself. Today, the Arctic fox is usually only hunted by the Inuit people, which only has a
couple hundred thousand in population. If hunting Arctic foxes were to become a problem again, introducing
hunting regulations could keep the population of the Arctic foxes stable. Hunting seasons can be introduced,
restricting the hunting periods, allowing for the population of the Arctic fox to replenish after a hunting
season. Other common methods include hunting licenses. Requiring a hunting license is another restrictive
means to lower the number of Arctic foxes that would be hunted.

ILLEGAL FUR FARMS

The Finnish fur farms that were exposed to the internet for the captive breeding of Arctic foxes is already
under investigation by the Finnish government. Europe has strict laws concerning fur trade and breeding for
fur. Finland has one of the strictest laws around fur farms and how the animals are treated while in captivity.
International companies such as, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), often expose these
types of industries to the public and push for the closing of such businesses. With both PETA and the
government regulations in place, inhumane fur farms are generally taken care of.

CONCLUSION
The Arctic fox is a species that is not in any direct endangerment. Conservation of this species is not high on
the priority list of the IUNC Red List. The possibility exists, but there are many other animal species that are in
immediate danger of becoming extinct, and many others that are currently endangered and need more
attention than the Arctic fox itself. This however does not mean that steps cannot be taken to ensure the
safety of the Arctic fox. Many of the solutions to the threats of the Arctic fox have other beneficial side
effects rather than just conserving the population of the Arctic fox. Decreasing global emissions for example
will not only lower the rising global temperature, but will also keep other environments intact, allowing for
more species to be protected as well. It would also lead to cleaner and more efficient energy sources.

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REFERENCES

“Arctic Fox.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/species/arctic-fox.

“Arctic Fox.” WWF, wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/species/profiles/mammals/arctic_fox/.

“Climate.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/climate.

Domonoske, Camila. “So What Exactly Is In The Paris Climate Accord?” NPR, NPR, 1 June 2017,
www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/01/531048986/so-what-exactly-is-in-the-paris-climate-accord.

“The Economic History of the Fur Trade: 1670 to 1870.” EHnet, eh.net/encyclopedia/the-economic-history-
of-the-fur-trade-1670-to-1870/.

Emma. “Arctic Fox.” IP Factly, 3 July 2013, ipfactly.com/arctic-fox/. “Fur-Bearing Animal

Regulations.” Fur-Bearing Animal Regulations - Hunting - Outdoor Annual - TPWD,

tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/hunting/fur-bearing-animal-regulations/.

“GISS Surface Temperature Analysis.” Data.GISS: GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP), National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/.

“PETA's Milestones.” PETA, www.peta.org/about-peta/milestones/.

“These Enormous Foxes Are Bred This Way & It'll Make You Never Want to Wear Fur.”PETA, 1 Mar. 2018,
www.peta.org/blog/undercover-photos-arctic-foxes-finland-fur-farms/.

“Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America.” Fox | Traditional Animal Foods
of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America - Animals - Mammals - Furbearers,
traditionalanimalfoods.org/mammals/furbearers/page.aspx?id=6367#arctic-e.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Paris Agreement - Main Page, 12 Oct. 2017,
unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php.