January 6, 2013

Churchill Trip - Arctic Fox


I would have never thought on this last trip to Churchill, Manitoba, that we would be fortunate enough to see a red fox on the frozen tundra. But it was luckier still that we got to see an arctic fox too! They were both hunting in the same general area of the Hudson Bay rocky coastline. Unlike the red fox, the arctic fox was successful in its hunt for a lemming beneath the snow! Munch, munch.



This animal has adapted quite well to the harsh winter environment. With its lush fur and small appendages, the arctic fox is one of the smallest mammals that remain active above the snow surface during the long winter. It maintains its body temperature despite temperatures minus 20 degrees F and lower. In fact, it was minus 11 degrees F without the wind chill when I took these photos. The fox was obviously comfortable, but I was a  tad chilly!



The arctic fox is the size of a large house cat and weighs about 10 pounds. It has a keen sense of smell and acute hearing, and such attributes serves it well to find lemmings, a major food source, moving under the snow. An arctic fox hunts from dusk to dawn. It prefers small mammals, but will eat insects, berries, and carrion too. In the winter, its diet consists of marine mammals, invertebrates, birds, and fish.



Unfortunately, these foxes have a high mortality rate. Parents frequently abandon their young. Adults can die from starvation and rabies. Although they have a potential lifespan of 10 years, only 1 in 25 lives past its fourth year. So it was quite a thrill to see this beautiful specimen as it scampered across the snowy landscape.



15 comments:

  1. wow! with that life expectancy (or lack thereof) i'm surprised you got to see one - and such great shots!!!

    like the new blog look. it took a bit of time to load for me but hopefully that was just this once. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. They sure are beautiful animals and being that small, I'm sure they are hard to see. Love your new banner, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a pretty coat...must have been hunted at some point. A cat on very long legs. ☺ Oh your header and blog looks so beautifully January and wintry and chilly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What an amazing creature! Your photos are incredible and I sure enjoyed seeing Mr. Fox.
    ~Adrienne~

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW---I got stuck on your new blog look.. This is the BEST one I have seen this winter so far. LOVE it. Where do you get your backgrounds???? Gorgeous...

    Love the pictures of the fox--but the overall blog look just blew me away tonight... Thanks!!!

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful animal! Too bad they have such a short life span!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a beautiful color of eyes it has.

    ReplyDelete
  8. what a rare site you happened across this for a photo...isn't it beautiful though!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh wow, it's beautiful. Too bad they have such a high mortality rate. You would never know from the picture that they are that small either.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow... That is a beautiful creature! How special that you got to see it up close!

    ReplyDelete
  11. love your photos Donna. what an amazing little fox.

    good to catch up here.

    We are in the middle of an extreme heatwave in Australia. with bush fires in Tasmania, and today in New South Wales, one knows the country is in trouble.
    Today's maximum of 35 Celsius didn't eventuate, thank goodness, but they are predicting 41 degrees Celsius for tomorrow here. Hope that doesn't eventuate either!! Guess I am lucky to have a pool to swim in if necessary!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great photo's, Donna. And, once I compliment you on your design, so pretty and wintry. :)

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so glad I read this and saw your pictures! Clearly the folks on Tumblr calling red foxes "arctic" are wrong! And who knew these little fellers were so small? It's amazing? WONDERFUL pictures as usual. I love his eyes! I'm glad he's finding lemmings and that he's not cold.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Donna
    I bet it's a Momma taking food back to it kits! Beautiful photo.
    One night when I was wealking home from work in Yellowknife a Arctic Fox walk right across the street in front of me. I couldn't believe it would be in town!

    ReplyDelete
  15. It is such a joy getting to see your amazing photos! What a beautiful animal. I would love to know how go about your adventures to capture your wildlife images. Have you posted about this?

    ReplyDelete

Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!