Editing Arctic fox (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
[[Image:ArcticFoxesLyd.jpg|thumb|The Arctic fox's seasonal furs, summer (top), "blue" (middle), and winter (bottom)]]
The Arctic fox has a circumpolar distribution and occurs in Arctic tundra habitats in northern Europe, northern Asia, and North America. Its range includes Greenland, Iceland, Fennoscandia, [[Svalbard]], [[Jan Mayen]] (where it was hunted to extinction)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180521021903/https://www.hurtigruten.us/must-read-articles/spitsbergen/the-isolated-beauty-of-jan-mayen/ The isolated beauty of Jan Mayen]. Hurtigruten US</ref> and other islands in the [[Barents Sea]], northern Russia, islands in the [[Bering Sea]], [[Alaska]], and Canada as far south as [[Hudson Bay]]. In the late 19th century, it was introduced into the [[Aleutian Islands]] southwest of Alaska. However, the population on the Aleutian Islands is currently being eradicated in conservation efforts to preserve the local bird population.<ref name=iucn /> It mostly inhabits tundra and [[pack ice]], but is also present in Canadian [[taiga|boreal forest]]s (northeastern [[Alberta]], northern [[Saskatchewan]], northern [[Manitoba]], [[Northern Ontario]], [[Nord-du-Québec|Northern Quebec]], and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]])<ref>[http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/what-we-do/resource-centre/featured-species/mammals/arctic-fox.html Arctic fox]. Nature Conservancy Canada</ref> and the [[Kenai Peninsula]] in Alaska. They are found at elevations up to {{cvt|3000|m}} above sea level and have been seen on sea ice close to the [[North Pole]].<ref name=Feldhamer>{{cite book |author1=Feldhamer, George A. |author2=Thompson, B.C. |author3=Chapman, J.A. |title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC&pg=PA540 |year=2003 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-7416-1 |pages=511–540}}</ref>

The Arctic fox is the only land mammal native to Iceland.<ref name="Iceland">{{cite web |url=http://www.iww.is/pages/alife/biglf.html |title=Wildlife |year=2000 |work=Iceland Worldwide |publisher=iww.is |access-date=22 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414112114/http://www.iww.is/pages/alife/biglf.html |archive-date=14 April 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> It came to the isolated [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic]] island at the end of the [[Last glacial period|last ice age]], walking over the frozen sea. [[The Arctic Fox Center]] in [[Súðavík]] contains an exhibition on the Arctic fox and conducts studies on the influence of tourism on the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arcticfoxcenter.com/ |title=The Arctic Fox Center |access-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210085613/http://arcticfoxcenter.com/ |archive-date=10 February 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Its range during the last [[ice age]] was much more extensive than it is now, and [[fossil]] remains of the Arctic fox have been found over much of northern Europe and Siberia.<ref name=iucn />

The color of the fox's coat also determines where they are most likely to be found. The white morph mainly lives inland and blends in with the snowy tundra, while the blue morph occupies the coasts because its dark color blends in with the cliffs and rocks.<ref name="dx.doi.org"/>

===Migrations and travel===
During the winter, 95.5% of Arctic foxes utilize commuting trips, which remain within the fox's home range. Commuting trips in Arctic foxes last less than 3 days and occur between 0–2.9 times a month. Nomadism is found in 3.4% of the foxes, and loop migrations (where the fox travels to a new range, then returns to its home range) are the least common at 1.1%. Arctic foxes in Canada that undergo nomadism and migrations voyage from the Canadian archipelago to Greenland and northwestern Canada. The duration and distance traveled between males and females is not significantly different.

Arctic foxes closer to goose colonies (located at the coasts) are less likely to migrate. Meanwhile, foxes experiencing low-density lemming populations are more likely to make sea ice trips. Residency is common in the Arctic fox population so that they can maintain their territories. Migratory foxes have a mortality rate >3 times higher than resident foxes. Nomadic behavior becomes more common as the foxes age.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal |last1=Lai|first1=S. |last2=Bety|first2=J. |last3=Berteaux|first3=D. |title=Movement tactics of a mobile predator in a meta-ecosystem with fluctuating resources: the arctic fox in the High Arctic |journal=Oikos |date=2017|volume=126|issue=7|pages=937–947|doi=10.1111/oik.03948|bibcode=2017Oikos.126..937L }}</ref>

In July 2019, the [[Norwegian Polar Institute]] reported the story of a yearling female which was fitted with a [[GPS]] tracking device and then released by their researchers on the east coast of [[Spitsbergen]] in the [[Svalbard]] group of islands.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/world/europe/arctic-fox-norway-canada.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/world/europe/arctic-fox-norway-canada.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|title=An Arctic Fox's Epic Journey: Norway to Canada in 76 Days |last=Specia|first=M. |date=2019 |work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-07-02|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The young fox crossed the polar ice from the islands to [[Greenland]] in 21 days, a distance of {{cvt|1,512|km}}. She then moved on to [[Ellesmere Island]] in northern [[Canada]], covering a total recorded distance of {{cvt|3,506|km}} in 76 days, before her [[GPS tracker]] stopped working. She averaged just over {{cvt|46|km}} a day, and managed as much as {{cvt|155|km}} in a single day.<ref name="bbcepic">{{cite news |title=Scientists 'speechless' at Arctic fox's epic trek |work=BBC News |date=July 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-48824181 |access-date=1 July 2019 |ref=bbcepic}}</ref>