Arctic fox Facts for Kids

Vulpes lagopus · VUL-peez LAG-oh-pus

An Arctic fox turns from brown to white when winter comes.

🏃 speed: not yet checked
⚖️ 9.9 lb4.5 kg1
📏 3.6 ft1.1 m1 long
🎂 lifespan: not yet checked
🍽️ meat
Doing fine (Least Concern)

Arctic foxes live where it is very cold. Their fur is white in winter. They have furry paws and small ears.

An Arctic fox has a thick coat that keeps it warm, plus small ears and a short nose that lose less heat. Its coat is white in winter to match the snow and brown in summer to match the rocks. When it sleeps, it curls up and covers its nose with its bushy tail.

Arctic foxes live on the treeless tundra around the top of the world. They eat lemmings, small animals that live under the snow, and a fox can hear one moving beneath the surface and then leap high to dive in. When food is hard to find, they follow polar bears and eat the leftovers. In a snowstorm they dig into a drift to get out of the wind.

How big is a arctic fox?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🦊 Arctic fox, 4 ft1.1 m long

Arctic fox in numbers

Length	3.6 ft1.1 m1nose to tail tip, tail included (15 of the 43 inches); this looks long for the species but it is what the page says (page uses the older name Alopex lagopus)
Height at the shoulder	no checked number yet
Weight	9.9 lb4.5 kg1maximum
Top speed	no checked number yet
How long it lives	no checked number yet
What it eats	lemmings, voles, birds, eggs and fish
Where it lives	the Arctic tundra of North America, Europe and Asia
What kind	Mammals
Is it in danger?	Doing fine (Least Concern)2

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

An Arctic fox has fur on the bottoms of its paws, like warm slippers.
Its bushy tail doubles as a blanket.
In winter, Arctic foxes sometimes follow polar bears to eat what they leave behind.