Beautiful Fox in Prudhoe Bay

[kuhio98]

Howdy all! A friend of mine just took some photos of a beautiful fox here in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. I thought I'd share them with you. I've seen hundreds of Arctic Fox up here. They are usually brown in the summer and snow white in the winter. But, I've never seen a gorgeous red fox up here before. Brrrrr, he looks cold -- but he must be finding food somehow. Enjoy!
Lisa

Update: Added a screen shot to show current Prudhoe Bay temperatures. With the wind chill, it's currently -54.8 F. No wonder his coat is so thick! Sure glad I have an inside job!

[lvpets2002]

;) That Fox is adorable & love the coat.. Wow it also looks very cold there..

[gemini9961]

He does look cold, but what a cute little guy. Thanks for sharing.

[Karen]

He's gorgeous - and twice as furry as any fox I've ever seen around here!

[Kater]

NEAT!! I saw a fox once on campus when I attended UW-Madison. When I told people...no one believed me. :( LOL, but I know it was a fox...and that was the only time I've seen one in the wild.
They are beautiful animals. Thank you for sharing! :)

[Glacier]

He's beautiful. I love foxes. We have tons of red foxes around here. We used to have an disabled one that hunted in our woodshed. Never had a mouse problem when he was around.

[sirrahbed]

Very beautiful!! WOW!

[Ginger's Mom]

Yes, he is beautiful, but I do feel bad for him he looks so cold. Poor boy.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Stupid question.....Can he survive that kind of temps? He looks like he's stressed due to the cold. Seeing that he's red instead of white, could there be something wrong with him? Couldn't he find a place to take cover? Sorry for all the questions. It just fascinates me to see something like this :)

[Addie]

Wow, what a beautiful fox!! i wish the ones up here had big fluffy coats like that! And the area it is in is beautiful!!

[Alysser]

What a gorgous FOX! AW! Looks chilly out there. :eek:

[kuhio98]

Stupid question.....Can he survive that kind of temps? He looks like he's stressed due to the cold. Seeing that he's red instead of white, could there be something wrong with him? Couldn't he find a place to take cover? Sorry for all the questions. It just fascinates me to see something like this :)
There's nothing wrong with him. He's a Red Fox not an Arctic Fox. And I'm sure he has a den somewhere to get out of the cold. They are hardy animals that live on rodents and birds.
http://www.contus.com/alaska/brochure/wildlife/hw.htm
Red Foxes are found in a variety of biomes, from prairies and scrubland to forest settings. They are most suited to lower latitudes but do venture considerably far north, competing directly with the Arctic Fox on the tundra. Red Foxes have also become a familiar sight in suburban and even urban environments, sharing territory with the much maligned raccoon.

Red Foxes eat rodents, insects, fruits, worms, eggs, mice, birds, and other small animals. They have 42 very powerful teeth that they use to catch their food. The foxes regularly consume from 0.5–1 kilograms (1–2 pounds) of food per day.

In recent decades, many foxes have established themselves in urban neighbourhoods in Britain. These urban foxes probably depend mainly on scavenging household waste, though they will also take rodents and birds from gardens and wasteland. Since they are so adaptable they have a strong population that is above 20 million.

In general, each fox claims its own territory; foxes pair up only in winter and in summer they forage alone. Territories may be as large as 50 square kilometres (19 square miles); ranges are much smaller (<12 square kilometres (4.6 square miles)) in habitats with abundant food sources, however. Several dens are utilized within these territories; dens may be claimed from previous residents such as marmots, or dug anew. A larger main den is used for winter living, birthing and rearing of young; smaller dens are dispersed throughout the territory for emergency and food storage purposes. A series of tunnels often connects them with the main den.

[Jessika]

He looks SO COLD!! hehe!

[Daisy and Delilah]

Thanks for the info. That's very cool :)