The species The arctic fox, also called the polar fox or the white fox, is a characteristic species of the Arctic. In many areas, it is the most abundant mammalian predator, affecting the breeding success of migrating birds and possibly also lemming cycles. To the indigenous peoples, it is a source of fur, meat and mythology.
Arctic foxes are opportunistic and eat almost anything that is digestible.
In the arctic fox's Holarctic range, productivity is generally low but food resources can be extremely abundant in small patches and during short time periods. The dominant pattern in resource availability is determined by rodent fluctuations. Lemmus and Dicrostonyx spp. Lemmings and voles have a cyclical pattern of abundance and changes in arctic fox numbers can be drastic between good and bad years. In some years, food for arctic foxes is abundant, large litters are common and the population size increases rapidly, only to crash one or two years later.