Page 32 - Dog

Hot foxes, cold foxes

Not all species of foxes live in the
HOT DOG!
The hot dog, called a temperate (moderate) parts of the world
frankfurter in Europe, and feed off the abundant rats, mice, and
was first made in
Germany during the small birds there. A few foxes live
Middle Ages. exceedingly harsh lives in the coldest –
as well as in the hottest – lands. Only one fox lives in the icy
cold Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, northern Europe, and
DESERT FOX
Asia, and that is the Arctic fox. Arctic foxes have been known to cover a The fennec fox is the
territory of 15,000 acres (6,000 hectares) in their search for food; they have smallest of all the foxes,
and it probably has the
small ears, which cut down on heat loss, and dense fur, which keeps them most difficult time of all
warm in winter. There are also a number of different species of fox that live in finding food. It lives in
the parched Arabian and
in the world’s hottest deserts. Generally, very little food is available for these Sahara deserts where
foxes, so they have evolved as hunters and scavengers; they range over there are very few other
animals, so food is
huge areas in search of some food to keep them alive. Foxes that live in hot, always scarce.
dry deserts all have very large ears which help keep them cool, small bodies
that can survive on little food, and short, dense fur. They sleep in dens, or Soft, dense coat is
hollows in the sand, during the intense heat of the day, and hunt by night designed to keep the
Arctic fox warm and
when it can actually be very cold. is thicker in winter
Short, furry ears
cut down heat Dark brown and
loss – in winter white summer coat
they must not
become frost-
bitten
Adult’s tail is
very bushy, and
can be as long as
12 in (30 cm)

Arctic
fox cub
in dark
summer
coat

COAT OF MANY COLORS above and right
The Arctic fox can be seen here in four different colored coats.
The fox on the right has the polar, or white, form of its
winter coat and lives in the high Arctic where there is
nearly always snow on the ground. In the summer,
this fox will have a brown and white coat,
as above. There is another less
common variety of Arctic fox which is
called “blue.” The winter coat of the
“blue” fox is steely gray, but in
summer it is all brown. Shedding
occurs twice a year – in spring
and autumn – when it is time
for a color change.

Hind foot has a
A pair of Arctic foxes – one thick covering of
in a dark summer coat, the soft fur all over it –
other in a pale winter coat even under the pads

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