Arctic Foxes in Iceland – February 2019

If, like me, you are an unconditional admirer of the common red fox, how could you possibly resist the temptation to meet its nordic cousin, the arctic fox? A little smaller, the arctic or polar fox is native to the Arctic regions ranging from Alaska and Canada through to Russia, Greenland and Iceland. One of the highest densities can be found in the remote and rather inaccessible Northwestern tip of Iceland, the Hornstradir peninsula. Unlike other parts of the island, where the arctic fox is unfortunately still hunted as an unwelcome potential predator of Eider ducks and other poultry, the Hornstradir Nature Reserve is an area where the species is protected and its population has been able to recover since.

The only trouble with the Hornstradir peninsula is its remoteness and the associated difficulties in getting there. Boat services only operate during the summer months, the nearest shops are in Isafjördur and there is virtually no visitor accomodation other than campgrounds. Travelling on your own, lugging around tent and provisions along with heavy photographic equipement in uncertain weather conditions and nowhere to recharge batteries seemed a bit too much of a challenge for a first trip. So when the opportunity arose to join a small group of photographers for a private trip in February, when the arctic fox still wears its most beautiful winter coat, I didn’t hesitate for long. With climate change winters have become milder and milder, snow is rare these days, and I am over the moon to head North into the frost and ice.

Today is our first full day in this wild paradise at the end of the world, we have wall to wall sunshine and are impatient for the first foxes to show up. During the winter months the foxes’ days are conditioned by the tides, hence we see them on their way down to the beach on a daily basis.

Throughout most of their range arctic foxes primarily feed on lemmings, voles and other small rodents. But these being absent in Iceland it has adapted its diet to breeding seabirds and their eggs in spring and summer. During the winter months, when their home range is covered in snow and ice, the foxes live off what the tides are willing to leave behind: fish, small crustaceans or carrion.

The arctic fox is the only land mammal native to Iceland. It arrived during the last ice age, crossing the then frozen sea. Its dense, multilayered, almost impermeable fur has excellent insulating properties and allows it to resist temperatures up to -50° without any problem. Its compact body shape is well suited to the extreme weather conditions that are common throughout the winter, as are its short muzzle, short legs and small ears which minimise body heat loss. When it is resting, it curls up into a ball with the tail wrapped around itself to loose as little energy as possible.

The arctic fox is the only canid with fur-covered foot pads. It is also the only canid that seasonally changes the colour of its coat. Often people are surprised to see a brown fox in a snowy landscape as they generally believe it should turn white in winter, just like weasel, mountain hare or ptarmigan do. In fact there are two distinct coat colour morphs : The white morph, which is pure white in winter and changes to a mottled gray-brown mixed with lighter grey or white in the summer, and the so-called blue-morph, which remains chocolate brown all year round. Whereas the white morph is the most common colour in most of its range (95-99%), in Iceland the blue morph is predominant, constituting 75 -80% of the total population. The latter are found along the coastline, whereas white individuals tend to occur more often inland. Even if man is its only predator in Iceland, the dark colour is no doubt a response to the large sections of coastal environements, where the brown coat provides a perfect camouflage on the beaches covered in algea.

We spend the better part of the day in their company, the waiting times between the tides are long, and when not searching for food, the foxes rest, curled up in a sheltered spot, no point in wasting energy ! Today we have seen 5 individuals, the breeding pair in whose homerange our farmhouse is located, and their 3 youngsters from the previous year. Nice start!

The start of another beautiful day, we are all set before the sun is up. And we don’t have to wait for long before the arrival of the first fox. It’s low tide after all. The foxes always have their nose close to the ground, nothing escapes their keen sense of smell.

The down time inbetween fox sightings can sometimes be long, and it isn’t always easy to stay focused when the freezing cold is numbing fingers and toes. Yet it pays to be ready at all times, as the foxes can show up unexpectedly from nowhere. There comes the female, she is just sneeking up to our old male, suddenly things move quickly. Soon the mating season will start, but for the moment their courtship displays are anything but tender!

We are lucky this winter as the youngsters from the previous summer have not moved on yet to find their own territory. We see them in the valley every day. Once the mating season has started, the dominant male will not tolerate other foxes on his territory and he will chase any potential rival, including his own offspring. The youngsters know this full well, as soon as they see him appear on the horizon they hide. But they are more reckless than their parents and quickly find that their father won’t dare approach if they stay near the house.

I often wondered what they must have thought of us. In any case they didn’t take long to understand that those strange two-legged creatures with their big lenses were totally harmless. On several occasions we found a fox curled up outside under the window in the morning, as the wall of the house provides efficient shelter against the chilling wind.

Late afternoon clouds arrive and the icy wind starts up again. The weather is changing, a storm is on its way. We have been very lucky with the fair weather so far, but we have also been dreaming about pictures of the foxes in the falling snow, to show them in those extreme conditions that they have to endure most of the winter. It seems our wish has been granted at last…..

…..well, not quite, yesterday the blizzard was so strong (110km/h) that we couldn’t even leave the house ; let alone take any pictures. In any case the foxes never ventured out in this weather either. Today the wind has calmed down a bit and we are in a hurry to see them again. After a day’s fasting they are off down to the beach. I can only admire their remarkable ability to survive in a region that is burried under snow and ice for several months a year. Extremely harsh weather conditions like blizzards, strong winds and freezing temperatures are common and at this time of the year food is very scarce. Not many animals have managed to adapt to such extreme conditions.

We also head down to the beach, to attempt some pictures. I get the impression that we are the only ones suffering from the cold and even more from the icy wind – neither eiders nor harlequin ducks nor the purple sandpipers seem to worry about the low temperatures. Maybe it is just a matter of getting used to them ! I don’t think I have ever attempted to take pictures in such extreme conditions, apart from my frozen fingers the whirling snowflakes have a tendency of settling on the lenses or else the get into the way of the focal point. The strong gusts of wind are putting a strain on the stabilizers of our lenses, and you need to watch your every step if you don’t want to end up sprawled out across the slippery algea-covered pebbles. The purple sandpipers, seemingly oblivious to the snow and wind continue their search for food in the shallow waters.

19^th February : Today is our last day, this afternoon the boat is due to take us back to town. I really don ‘t feel at all like leaving this white paradise. We make the most of our last remaining hours trying to get some different shots of the foxes. The sky is more or less clear, is has stopped snowing. But the wind is still howling and the snow is being blown around. Together with a few rays of sunshine this makes the perfect backdrop for capturing the foxes in a different light. I took my favourite pictures that last day.

Two youngsters show up and we watch their playful squabbles. They are growing up quickly and soon they will leave the valley to find a territory of their own.

The boat has arrived and we are in the process of loading the bags, several trips in the zodiac are necessary to get everything and everybody on board. One of the young foxes has settled itself in the middle of the snow overhang overlooking the beach, sheltered from the icy wind. It lifts its head as if to say good-bye…