Arctic Fox: Life at the Top of the World

By Garry Hamilton and Norbert Rosing

Curious, innovative and mysterious survivors of the arctic tundra.

Ever since explorers began venturing north into the harsh lands of the arctic, they have encountered arctic foxes in the unlikeliest of places. The arctic fox is an extraordinary creature. No bigger than a house cat, it survives on almost nothing in the middle of a land so hostile it seems incompatible with the very existence of life. The tundra is a place of endless days or endless nights where temperatures can reach -58°F (-50°C) for weeks at a time, and where the terrain consists mostly of ice sheets, pack ice, ice floes, icebergs, ice shelves and glaciers.

Arctic Fox tells the story of this animal from its evolutionary beginnings to its difficult life in the far north involving:

• Mating and raising a family
• Hunting and scavenging
• Its relationship with the polar bear and other arctic inhabitants
• The fur trade
• Adaptation to seasonal changes
• The never-ending struggle for survival in a fragile and vanishing environment.

This informative, lively and beautifully photographed book will fascinate naturalists and general readers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Release date: Dec 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781770880061

Garry Hamilton

Garry Hamilton has over twenty five years experience working in the field of community and social support, and has worked with a variety of troubled members of society. As well as being a reiki master and personal trainer, he practices chi kung daily and has an interest in cycling, painting and collecting rare autographs. He is looking forward to having his other works published in the coming future. Garry Hamilton lives in London with his family. He’s currently working as a community support worker with adults experiencing learning difficulties. His interests include cycling, painting, collecting rare autographs, and chi kung, as well as being a reiki master, he isa qualified personal trainer, and a boxercise instructor.

Reviews for Arctic Fox

[ella_jill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book combines detailed, fascinated information about the animal with absolutely stunning photography. Here are some facts that I learned from this book that I found the most interesting:Arctic foxes’ resilience to cold is unparallel in the animal world, leaving even polar bears way in the dust (despite size disadvantage);Their dens are so well constructed that they can last for over 3 centuries (yes, centuries);A mature den can occupy an area the size of a football field and have over a 100 entrances;In various places in where arctic foxes no longer exist, their dens still survive, even though they were last occupied and maintained in the 19th century;Arctic foxes roam enormous distances – explorers have reported seeing them near the North Pole, and foxes radio collared in Scandinavia and Russia later turned up in Alaska!Still, this is a book for someone with more than a passing interest in animals. However, for someone who’s interested in wildlife I couldn’t recommend it highly enough (although I must admit that I didn’t read its last 4 chapters devoted to arctic foxes’ relationship with humans – I don’t have the stomach to read of our species’ relationship with any other).