Source

Type

Peer Review

Audience

Notes

Extract from Article

The arctic fox now appears to be extinct in Finland, and is down to extremely low levels in its remaining home in Scandinavia. The plight of the fox is highlighted by its inclusion in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. The arctic fox is classified as critically endangered (CR) in Finland, Norway and Sweden, and within the European Union.

The arctic fox, a smaller cousin of the red fox, was one of the first mammals to colonise Sweden and Finland at the end of the Ice Age. As the ice retreated it remained in the mountain tundra areas. High hunting pressure led to a drastic population decline in the early 1900’s, from about ten thousand to less than one hundred individuals.