Churchill and the Arctic are prime territory for Arctic fox and their hunting habits. Their ability to sense their prey under the snow and “dive bomb” the location is uncanny. Churchill currently is experiencing lower numbers of Arctic fox due to some unethical trapping done last winter as well as a cyclical drop in lemming population in the area. They will return in higher numbers as they always do and meanwhile the red fox population is up and healthy. We should start to see more Arctic Fox as early as this winter as long as the trappers don’t repeat last years travesty!
Amazing experiences have come from this polar bear season in Churchill, Manitoba for Natural Habitat Adventures guide Moira Le Patourel! “I am thoroughly enjoying my third season in Churchill and have been absolutely thrilled with the sights that have come my way while guiding the six-day and seven-day Classic adventures this season. My guests and I have been lucky enough to enjoy encounters with snowy owls, arctic fox, red fox, arctic hare and LOTS of incredible views of polar bears (and polar boulders too!).” reported Le Patourel.
Magnifecent light over the tundra in Churchill. Moira Le Patourel photo.
“One of my favourite moments of the season thus far was a late-in-the-day sighting of a female polar bear. She was spotted laying beside a frozen pond, along our road home. We were able to sit with her for a while, as the sun began to set on the tundra and on this beautiful bear. At first it seemed like only one adult bear was laying down, until a small black nose and a pair of ears poked out from behind. Smiles shone all around our Rover as we realized that we had the privilege of being in the presence of a mother polar bear and her cub of the year. The light faded slowly and all too soon we had to head home, leaving the mother and cub behind; our Rover crew silent in communal contentment, and smiling, appreciating all things polar bear.” stated Le Patourel.
As we come down the stretch of another incredible polar bear season in Churchill, excitement is overflowing from guides and travelers as well. Fresh perspectives from guides in Churchill enable us all to see the polar bear world with a clear mind and vision.
Image of a red and Arctic fox after the red hunted the Arctic in the Wapusk National Parc in Manitoba. Don Gutoski photo.
An incredible image captured by Canadian physcian Don Gutoski has earned the photographer the honor of 2015 Wildlife photographer of the Year. Gutoski works as an accident and emergency physcian out of London, Ontario and moonlights as an amateur photographer. His graphic photo won the international competition organized by the Natural history museum in London, U. K. by beating out 42,000 entries from 96 countries.
Gutoski’s image, A Tale of Two Foxes, was taken in the protected polar bear denning area Wapusk National Park at Cape Churchill to the east of Churchill.
With warming temperatures and natural species cycles, red foxes have overlapped more territory with Arctic foxes over the past decade. Some years one species will be more predominant than the other and red fox now seem more prevalent in recent years.
The photo was taken after three hours in roughly -30C temperatures. When the red fox was close enough with its fallen prey, Gutoski snapped the photo. The red fox then gathered the carcass remains and cached it out of sight for a later meal.
Contest jury member Kathy Moran, also senior editor for natural history projects for National Geographic, called it “one of the strongest single storytelling photographs I have ever seen.” She also added, “The immediate impact of this photograph is that it appears as if the red fox is slipping out of its winter coat. What might simply be a straightforward interaction between predator and prey struck the jury as a stark example of climate change, with red foxes encroaching on Arctic fox territory.”
Take a look at this amazing footage of a red fox hunting lemmings in the snow. These animals have exceptional hearing that detects the movement of the rodents. Scientists also hypothesize that red fox utilize the Earth’s magnetic field to hunt.
While the ability to hear low frequency sounds allows the fox to detect movement below up to three feet of snow, it appears they also maximize their kill rate by honing in on prey in accordance with the magnetic field. When a fox stalks and jumps into the air like the display in the video it’s known as mousing.
In two years of research Jaroslav Červený studied red foxes in the Czech Republic, observing 84 foxes perform almost 600 mousing jumps.
Research showed that the mammals mostly pounced in a northeastern direction and that kills were more likely if they jumped along this axis — even if deep snow obscured the prey.
When pouncing through the snow to the northeast, their kill rate was 73 per cent. Attempts in the opposite direction provided only a 60 percent. In any other direction, only an 18 percent success rate prevailed.
Cerveny believed the foxes used the magnetic field as a “rangefinder” to track the sounds being made by prey. When the direction of the sound matches the magnetic fields slope then the fox recognizes the optimal strike moment. The fox can calculate the exact distance to jump, or mouse, for prey.
This week’s Churchill photos are of Arctic fox. These beautiful Arctic animals are constantly scavenging for food either on the tundra or out on the sea ice, following the polar bears and feeding opportunistically on their seal-kill leftovers. Often they battle for territory with the red fox year over year. That seems a little harsh considering the “Arctic” fox really is at home.
Arctic fox sniffing the tundra for prey. Brad Josephs photo.
Arctic fox moves deliberately across the tundra keeping a watchful eye on a rover. Brad Josephs photo.
Red fox along the coast in Churchill,MB. Brad Josephs photo.
