WHEN YOU
LOOK
Western Bluebird
The Arctic Fox: A Reflection of Innocence
When you look at this Arctic Fox, you see a reflection of yourself
When you imagine the Arctic Fox, it looks straight from a children’s book. We can see curiosity and playfulness in their eyes as they bound across the crunchy snow. We can see innocence in the fluffy and pristine white fur. But as we continue looking, the white fur turns gray and the snow melts. What we see underneath is chilling.
Vulpes lagopus, commonly known as the Arctic Fox, lives in the Arctic tundra. This polar fox is a scavenger, feeding on small animals—predominantly lemmings, who make their homes burrowed under the snow—or carcasses left behind by other animals.
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The foxes’ thick, white coat protects them from the cold and provides camouflage to hide from predators and sneak up on their prey. Their fur changes with the seasons, becoming a thin brown or gray coat in warmer weather to maintain camouflage when the snow melts.
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The conservation status of the Arctic Fox is currently of least concern. But with a rapidly changing ecosystem, that status could quickly change.
Vulpes lagopus (Arctic Fox) in the Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History
Size of the Arctic
1979
Size of the Arctic
2022
With warming temperatures, the foxes’ home is melting away. And the brilliant white fur that defines these Arctic Foxes will slowly begin to disappear as they adapt to their warmer environment. The white foxes are not the only creatures affected by the changing climate; their food and resources are also diminishing. The lemmings that the foxes rely upon don’t have a reliable source of snow with changing weather patterns. Their populations and reproduction rates decrease when there is no snow to protect them. When their numbers drop, so do the foxes and other Arctic animals.
Graying Arctic Fox
Vulpes lagopus & Vulpes vulpes
The warmer temperatures created by climate change are forcing the Arctic Fox population and others to abandon the southern edges of the tundra, pushing them north. Coming with them are the Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes); Arctic Foxes are now competing for food and territory in a time where there is already a low supply of each.
Disappearing much like the ice are traditions. The Inuit have lived in various regions of the Arctic for around 5,000 years; one of their traditions is fox trapping. The practice of fox trapping is a relatively recent tradition, developed in the 1920s, and was used as a main source of income when the fur trade was high. Although not popular today, Inuit elders see fox trapping as preserving traditions. But as the tundra shrinks, trapping spots are dwindling.
Quillaq Idlout holding two fox furs (1953)
With the ice melting away, the stark reality has revealed itself. As humanity is destroying the climate, the climate has the power to destroy entire ecosystems. We see ourselves reflected in the Arctic Fox. Our childish imagination of a fluffy creature turns somber; like the white coat turning gray, our innocence and naiveté turn to maturity as we adapt to an ever-changing world.