Talk:Arctic fox

Statement on life expectancy seems questionable

In the first paragraph it states "In the wild, most individuals do not live past their first year but some exceptional ones survive up to 11 years." The source doesn't seem to support that. In table 3 it shows that a large number of the examined foxes in the study were around 1 year old, however it's 11 out of 26 (42%). Also the study was done on a single Greenlandic island with a relatively small sample size and was more interested in feeding habits than determining age statistics. I think it's an over-generalization to take such a small sample size from a very specific area and apply it to the entire species. sam (talk) 22:33, 28 March 2023 (UTC)

That sentence also caught my attention. From a quick search, I found this page, which says:

Arctic foxes have an average life span of 3 years in the wild once they make it to adulthood and have been observed as old as 11 years. However, pup survival rates can be very low due to food scarcity and predators, often with less than half the pups making it to the first breeding season.

That makes sense to me, though I'm not sure that site qualifies as a reputable source. The page does cite some sources of its own, though, so someone might be able to use those as references for this article. Nyvhek (talk) 06:34, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

I went to the page Nyvhek linked to, then to the source that that page linked to, which is this: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260707097_Canids_Foxes_Wolves_Jackals_and_Dogs_Status_Survey_and_Conservation_Action_Plan

On page 122, under Longevity, the author states "The average lifespan for animals that reach adulthood is approximately three years. The oldest recorded individuals were 11 years of age (P. Hersteinsson unpubl.)." He's referencing his own study, which wasn't published at the time but now has been. I believe it's the same as the one referenced in the Wikipedia article. In my view, the sentence Sam quoted shouldn't include "exceptional" or "up to" due to the aforementioned small sample size. Some individuals are likely able to live longer than that, it's just they haven't been observed doing so yet. TheBlueFoxBoy (talk) 03:38, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Writing 2

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 28 December 2022 and 17 May 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): MikayelHun04 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by MikayelHun04 (talk) 20:00, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

Fennoscandia

Please add the link. Thanks. 99.228.43.228 (talk) 17:53, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Please use the {{edit semi-protected}} template to request your change. - UtherSRG (talk) 18:14, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

Removing space

The current text is "Arctic foxes must endure a temperature difference of up to 90–100 °C (160–180 °F)". Is there a way to remove the space between the figures and the degree symbol? BrightOrion (talk) 23:46, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

Pretty sure that's an automatic function of the {{convert}} template being used. Just Step Sideways ^{from this world ..... today} 00:39, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

I always learned that there was no space, as per Chicago Style, for example. But I just found out there is a style to leave a space, and I'm guessing Wikipedia follows that style now. Thanks anyway. BrightOrion (talk) 00:50, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request

In the intro, please add that it is the smallest canine species in Canada and that alongside the Arctic wolf, it is the northernmost canine species in the World. https://northwestwildlife.com/learn/species-reports/arctic-fox/ 2600:100C:A20D:B7A7:E0E7:13FC:82DC:FD2F (talk) 12:53, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: References do not directly support the request. Also, request is not in the required "please change X to Y" format. UtherSRG (talk)