As of: March 13, 2024, 6:14 a.m
By: Marcus Giebel, Julian Mayr
Comments
Press
Split
The arctic fox is fighting for survival in a warming world.
But thanks to committed conservation initiatives, there is hope for the predator.
Oppdal – The arctic fox’s habitat couldn’t be more inhospitable.
Snow, ice and freezing temperatures are normal in the polar regions of the north most of the year.
What is affecting the small predator is not the adverse living conditions, but rather climate change.
He is not the only living being on our planet affected by this.
But hardly any other known species is as dependent on snow and frost as the arctic fox.
Therefore, in 2009, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the arctic fox, along with the leatherback turtle and the koala, among the species that will suffer the most from climate change and rising temperatures.
The arctic fox is not affected by the icy cold of the polar region, but by the effects of climate change.
© alimdi / Arterra/IMAGO/imageBROKER
Arctic fox food sources at risk due to climate change
Arctic foxes can withstand temperatures down to minus 50 degrees Celsius.
Their particularly thick winter fur has made them the target of merciless hunts in the past and brought them to the brink of extinction.
But the biggest problems occur in other seasons when there is a lack of food.
The
Reuters
news agency points out that the lemmings and small rodents such as voles that are on the menu of arctic foxes are becoming increasingly rare in their homeland.
As it rains more and more often instead of snow, the lemmings have fewer opportunities to dig burrows.
Climate change primarily endangers arctic foxes indirectly
According to the environmental protection organization WWF, the pack ice in summer is only half as thick as it was around 20 years ago.
This means that arctic foxes are more dependent on polar bears leaving some of their prey behind.
However, they mainly hunt when it is so cold that the ice cover only has a few holes through which the seals can emerge to breathe.
The sooner the ice melts, the less the arctic foxes are likely to get.
My news
“Hell summer of the century”?
Weather experts sort out the horror forecast
Swarm earthquake directly under residential area: Fear of supervolcano eruption in Italy grows
Mysterious passengers on board MH370 – read the mystery about stolen passports from Italy and Austria
Italy's supervolcano causes shipwrecks
Nine people dead after eating Zanzibar delicacy - 78 more in hospital
Scree avalanche: Italy's northernmost community temporarily cut off from the outside world
Climate change affects the arctic foxes primarily indirectly.
This can also be seen in the example of a related competitor.
The red fox is penetrating further and further north.
Since it is physically superior, it pushes the arctic fox out of its native habitat.
Climate change is also causing red foxes to spread further and further north and threaten the smaller arctic foxes.
© imago stock&people
Arctic fox population has increased since the turn of the millennium - also thanks to protection projects
To mitigate the effects of global warming, projects launched by biologists a few years ago are becoming increasingly important.
Various conservation initiatives have contributed to a sharp increase in the number of animals in the wild.
At the turn of the millennium, only 50 wild arctic foxes were said to be roaming around Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Today there are around 200 again in Sweden alone.
And there is even more good news: According to WWF, 762 young animals were counted in the three countries in the summer of 2022 - a record.
In addition, 164 burrows were documented, including one in Finland for the first time in 26 years.
According to Reuters,
the long-term goal is 2,000 animals living freely in the three countries.
However, scientists believe that this number will not be reached for another 25 years.
Norway invests the equivalent of 275,000 euros annually in the state-funded program.
Breeding programs are intended to ensure the survival of arctic foxes
The establishment of several dozen feeding stations in the wild has contributed to the Arctic fox's resurgence.
These contain dog food and are designed so that the arctic fox can slip in, but not its larger relative, the red fox.
A breeding program in Norway plays a special role.
Puppies are born and raised in Oppdal, about 300 kilometers north of Oslo.
In the station they are safe from eagles, which pose a particular danger to their offspring.
There is also an outdoor enclosure available for them to romp around and get used to nature.
450 arctic foxes are said to have been bred here and then released into the wild, five in February 2024 alone - after they were fully grown.
Arctic foxes travel long distances
The
SZ
reported in 2019 that during breeding, care was taken to mix the two different arctic fox species in order to increase genetic diversity.
Both species have gray-brown fur in summer.
In winter, however, the fur of the species that lives in the tundra and inland mountains turns predominantly white, while the fur of its ice-free counterpart, known as the blue arctic fox, turns completely brown.
The projects benefit from the fact that the animals have a large distribution area and undertake long migrations.
A few years ago, records showed that a young arctic vixen traveled 3,506 kilometers in 76 days.
She moved from Svalbard to Ellesmere Island in Canada.
So big tours seem to be their specialty.
As long as climate change still allows it.
Even in more temperate latitudes and countries like Germany, global warming poses a threat to rare animal species.
The editor wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked.
Find out more about our AI principles here.