Cat and Horse

Cat and Horse
Image from http://lovemeow.com

Friday, September 17, 2010

Arctic Foxes

This is a super cute picture of an Arctic Fox:
(Image from: http://www.epubbud.com/read.php?g=HNEYLNTF)

Maya here, this is about Arctic Foxes, enjoy!
The Arctic Foxes scientific name is Alopex lagopus or Vulpes lagopus. They are also known as White Foxes, Polar Foxes, and Snow Foxes. They are small foxes native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and are common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word "Alopex" means fox and "Vulpes" is the Latin version. "Lagopus" is derived from Ancient Greek "Lago", meaning "hare"+"foot", and refers to the hair on its feet. The Arctic Fox will generally eat any meat it can find, including lemmings, arctic hares, eggs, and carrion. Lemmings are the most common prey. A family of foxes can eat dozens of lemmings each day. During April and May the Arctic Fox also preys on Ringed Seal pups when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. Fish beneath the ice are also part of its diet. If there is an to much food hunted, the Arctic Fox will bury the leftovers.

Besides the nominate, there are four subspecies of the Arctic Fox:
Bering Islands Arctic Fox, Alopex lagopus beringensis
Iceland Arctic Fox, Alopex lagopus fuliginosus
Pribilof Islands Arctic Fox, Alopex lagopus pribilofensis
Greenland Arctic Fox, Alopex Lagopus foragorapusis
Pretty cool right? Hope you found this interesting and educational! :D
Maya out.

1 comment:

  1. Dude...
    You know the new gadget on the side?
    ...
    Well, since when are sickly pet monkeys dressed in blue baseball suits and cows exotic?

    Nice posts though.

    ReplyDelete