Curious, innovative and mysterious survivors of the arctic tundra.
Ever since explorers began venturing north into the harsh lands of the arctic, they have encountered arctic foxes in the unlikeliest of places. The arctic fox is an extraordinary creature. No bigger than a house cat, it survives on almost nothing in the middle of a land so hostile it seems incompatible with the very existence of life. The tundra is a place of endless days or endless nights where temperatures can reach -58°F (-50°C) for weeks at a time, and where the terrain consists mostly of ice sheets, pack ice, ice floes, icebergs, ice shelves and glaciers.
Arctic Fox tells the story of this animal from its evolutionary beginnings to its difficult life in the far north involving:
- Mating and raising a family
- Hunting and scavenging
- Its relationship with the polar bear and other arctic inhabitants
- The fur trade
- Adaptation to seasonal changes
- The never-ending struggle for survival in a fragile and vanishing environment.
This informative, lively and beautifully photographed book will fascinate naturalists and general readers.
Inhoudsopgave
Table of Contents
Introduction
PART ONE: ORIGINS
Chapter 1 Rise of the Catlike Dogs
Chapter 2 Into the Cold
Chapter 3 Alopex lagopus — The Arctic Fox
PART TWO: ADAPTATIONS
Chapter 4 Life at 40 Below
Chapter 5 On the Barrens
Chapter 6 Tyranny of the Lemmings
Chapter 7 In the Shadow of Ursus maritimus
Chapter 8 When the Geese Come
Chapter 9 The Problem With Permafrost
Chapter 10 How to Raise a Family in 90 Days Or Less
Chapter 11 Born To Roam
Chapter 12 Grizzly Bears and Other Nuisances
PART THREE: CHANGE
Chapter 13 The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
Chapter 14 Object of Desire
Chapter 15 One Thousand Years of Loathing
Chapter 16 A Cautionary Tale
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Map
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Over de auteur
by Garry Hamilton with photographs by Norbert Rosing
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