Arctic Foxes

by Downs Matthews, Nikita Ovsyanikov (Illustrator), Dan Guravich (Illustrator)

Profiling the harsh conditions of the Arctic world of snow and ice, a photographic introduction to the lives of Arctic foxes describes such aspects as how a mother fox cares for her pups and how the fox changes its coat color.

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of photographs detailing the lifespan of arctic foxes, from being born to growing up and going off to make families of their own. It's not TOO detailed, since the photos are in the wild vs. of a tamed pair that has allowed humans to make one of those artificial dens where camera operators can record them up close—the closest the photographers have gotten is a shot of the pups in the den when the parents were away.

Something that I wonder about is where the book states that the vixen's litter size is basically determined by the amount of food she gets. Is it really that simple? Like, does her body adjust to "abort" pups in the womb accordingly as to food availability? Or is it that she simply lacks nutrients to feed the weaker ones, so only the stronger ones get fed in the event of famine? I mean, I'm sure there have been studies, but I can't imagine that's something you could easily test. Just thinking about it since I recall reading somewhere (though I don't recall WHERE I read) that, like, rabbits can "reabsorb" babies if living conditions are too cramped for the population to grow.

Nature's weird!

Anyway, lovely book, great for fans of foxes!

[Lbrown107 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young children are naturally curious, especially about things they cannot readily experience themselves. This book about Arctic foxes provides the reader with scientific content on their habitat, food sources, and other characteristics that children will love.