Food habits of Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) on the western coast of Svalbard

Abstract

The foxes were opportunistic in their hunting and feeding habits, utilizing a wide variety of available food items. Alcids (mainly little auks Alle alle and Brunnich's guillemot Uria lomvia, gulls (mainly kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla), and fulmars Fulmarus glacialis were the major foods in summer. Consumption of alcids by fox families was correlated with availability near the den. In winter, fulmars and, in one region, seals, were important foods. Foxes frequently cached food by scatter hoarding, placing a single item in each cache. -from Author