Bruce Lyon is a teacher in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department at UC Santa Cruz in California. While doing some research study on St. Paul Island, among the Pribilof Islands off the coast of Alaska, he tape-recorded some Arctic fox pups messing around. The pups are cute, and it is fun to enjoy them play (and play fight).
Lyon published three videos of the puppies today on YouTube. The very first video is an Arctic fox play fight, showing 2 cute fuzz balls battling with each other. The second video shows a lots of pups doing baby-animal things– digging, playing, etc. The 3rd video shows yet more playtime, particularly with 2 little puppies and a log that they truly appear to like.
“An arctic fox pair has a den with nine kits not to far from where I am staying on St Paul Island,” Lyon writes in his YouTube caption for all three videos. “The puppies are frequently hunched down but one day all 9 were out and playing: racing around, sneaking up and jumping on each other, chewing on driftwood or dead fish, and play fighting.”
Watch Arctic fox pups be adorable here:
Why Are the Arctic Fox Pups Brown? Baby Arctic fox puppies have” short velvety dark brown fur,” according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This fur lengthens and ends up being lighter as the puppies grow.
Mature Arctic foxes can either be white or “blue”/ charcoal colored. In the Pribilof Islands, Alaska Fish and Video game states the darker color phase is more typical, though both exist. The white Arctic foxes are only white throughout the winter. Their summer season coat is dark brown. “Blue-phase” Arctic foxes stay dark year-round, though their coat does lighten in the winter season.
While studying on St Paul Island, Bruce Lyon caught some Arctic fox puppies playing around. See the lovable puppies here.