Arctic fox on Svalbard by Kai Müller

About "Arctic fox on Svalbard"

by Kai Müller

About the artwork

The Arctic fox is the only wild dog that changes the colour of its fur according to the seasons. In summer, the head, back, tail and legs are brown in colour, while the flanks and belly are light beige. This fur covering, which is particularly pronounced in July and August and shorter than in winter, provides perfect camouflage in the tundra.

While the summer coat of all Arctic foxes is similar, there are two very different colour versions in the winter coat phase - a white and a blue version. Accordingly, a distinction is made between "white fox" and "blue fox". The white fox has a pure white coat in winter. The colours of the winter blue fox coat, on the other hand, vary from light grey to dark blue and even black; differences can be seen from litter to litter and also geographically.

In the Canadian territory of Nunavut and in the Northwest Territories, the white variant clearly predominates, while the blue variant accounts for only around one per cent of the population inland and up to five per cent in coastal areas and on the Arctic islands. In contrast, the blue variant is predominant on the Aleutian Islands and the Pribilof Islands of Alaska. In southern Greenland, the proportions are roughly equal. In general, the blue variant is likely to be dominant, but the white foxes probably prevail in natural selection due to their better camouflage in snowy landscapes.

Skull
The relatively short muzzle, the very small ears and the rather short legs are an example of Allen's rule and, in addition to the warm fur with a dense undercoat, are essential characteristics for defying the extreme Arctic conditions all year round. However, the white winter coat makes the hair appear longer than it really is. However, with around 70 per cent undercoat, it has unusually good heat-insulating properties.