Arctic foxes are much more than cute balls of fur, they’re apparently also incredibly athletic and adventurous creatures. Indeed, this arctic fox that was fitted with a tracking device in July 2017 has proven to be quite the explorer — it walked on the sea ice from Norway’s Svalbard archipelago to Ellesmere Island in Canada, a 2,000-mile distance, in just 76 days.
Photo: Risto Raunio/Shutterstock
Arctic Fox Makes Epic 2,000-Mile Trek From Norway to Canada
Fjellreven vandret via havisen fra #Svalbard i Europa til #Canada i Nord-Amerika i et tempo ingen forskere tidligere har dokumentert. Foto: Elise Stømseng Les mer: https://t.co/Gk3xirq3YE pic.twitter.com/adzOVNFfyx
— Norsk Polarinstitutt (@NorskPolar) 26 juin 2019
As reported by The Guardian, on March 26, 2018, the female fox left Svalbard and arrived in Greenland 21 days later. It continued on to Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada, where it arrived yesterday.
Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute
The Norwegian Polar Institute published a research paper about the fox’s incredible feat across the Arctic, explaining that it walked an average of 28.6 miles per day. While on the sea ice in northern Greenland, scientists even recorded a day during which the animal walked 96.3 miles — “the fastest movement rate recorded for this species.”
While the journey might seem improbable, if any animal could do it, it’s definitely the arctic fox. According to National Geographic, thanks to their furry-soled paws, short ears, and short muzzle, they can survive incredibly cold temperatures (as low as minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit). 