Arctic fox
Amazing fact
In winter, Arctic foxes sometimes go onto sea ice to eat seal remains.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
In winter, Arctic foxes sometimes go onto sea ice to eat seal remains.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Arctic fox
- Scientific name
- Vulpes lagopus
- Japanese name
- ホッキョクギツネ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Canidae
- Genus
- Vulpes
A fox of the treeless Arctic tundra. Its short legs and ears give it a stocky look.
There are white and bluish color types. Foxes of the white type turn pure white in winter.
In summer it eats mostly small mammals such as lemmings. When food is plentiful, it sometimes stores extra among boulders or in its den.
How the Arctic fox lives
Both parents bring food to the den and raise the pups. In autumn, the family gradually separates. When inactive, it uses an underground den or sometimes tunnels into snow in winter.
Alaska Department of Fish and GameBasic data
- Size
- average 109 cmAlaska Department of Fish and Game
- Diet
- Small mammals, insects, berries and carrionUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Range
- Arctic regions of Eurasia, North America, Greenland and IcelandUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
Where the Arctic fox has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ホッキョクギツネ
- 简体中文
- 北极狐
- 繁體中文
- 北極狐
- 한국어
- 북극여우
- Español
- Zorro ártico
- Français
- Renard polaire
- Deutsch
- Polarfuchs
- Português (Brasil)
- Raposa-do-ártico
- Italiano
- Volpe artica
- العربية
- ثعلب قطبي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Rubah arktik
- Tiếng Việt
- Cáo Bắc Cực
- Русский
- Песец
- Türkçe
- Kutup tilkisi
- اردو
- قطبی لومڑ
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Vulpes lagopusChecked: 2026-11-03
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game — Arctic foxChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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