CreatureData

Ice fox

Vulpes lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status not recordedmammals

The ice fox (Vulpes lagopus) is a species in the family Canidae, order Carnivora. Recorded adults weigh 3.3 kg to 3.6 kg and live up to 15 years.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the ice fox

Weight
3.3 kg – 3.6 kg
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
15 years
Diet
Carnivore
Longest recorded lifespan
16.3 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
52.5 days
Young per litter or clutch
8.12
Age at maturity
9.5 months – 9.99 months
Litters or clutches a year
1
Active
By day (diurnal)
Lifestyle
Terrestrial
Brain mass
44.5 g (1.32% of body mass)
Resting metabolic rate
7.63 W
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the ice fox live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the ice fox as introduced in 4 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them.

  1. Swedeninvasive
  2. Denmark
  3. Russia
  4. United Kingdom

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the ice fox endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the ice fox classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCarnivora
  5. familyCanidae
  6. genusVulpes
  7. SpeciesVulpes lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Alopex lagopus, Canis lagopus, Leucocyon lagopus

Other names and names in other languages (115)
  • Arctic foxEnglish
  • Blue foxEnglish
  • Polar foxEnglish
  • White foxEnglish
  • UuquchiingixAleut
  • ثعلب قطبيArabic
  • Rabosa de nieuAragonese
  • Qütb tülküsüAzerbaijani
  • قۆطب تۆلکوسوazb
  • Аҡ төлкөBashkir
  • ПясецBelarusian
  • Полярна лисицаBulgarian
  • བྱང་སྣེའི་ཝ་མོ།Tibetan
  • Louarn ArktikBreton
  • Guineu àrticaCatalan
  • liška polárníCzech
  • Pòlarny lësKashubian
  • polarrævDanish
  • EisfuchsGerman
  • Lûwa vewreZaza
  • Αρκτική αλεπούGreek
  • Arkta vulpoEsperanto
  • zorro polarSpanish
  • JäärebaneEstonian
  • Azeri artikoBasque
  • روباه قطبیPersian
  • NapakettuFinnish
  • PólrevurFaroese
  • IsatisFrench
  • PolaarfoosNorthern Frisian
  • Sionnach ArtachIrish
  • Raposo árticoGalician
  • Arktička lisicaSerbian (Latin)
  • שועל השלגHebrew
  • sarki rókaHungarian
  • ԲևեռաղվեսArmenian
  • ᑎᕆᒐᓂᐊᖅ / TiriganiaqInuktitut
  • TiġiganniaqInupiaq
  • TófaIcelandic
  • volpe articaItalian
  • ホッキョクギツネJapanese
  • ყარსაღიGeorgian
  • TerianniaqKalaallisut
  • Лэпӑкkca
  • Ақ түлкіKazakh
  • 흰여우Korean
  • КыньKomi
  • Lowarn ArktekCornish
  • Калтар түлкүKyrgyz
  • PolarfuussLuxembourgish
  • poliarinė lapėLithuanian
  • PolārlapsaLatvian
  • Поларна лисицаMacedonian
  • ധ്രുവക്കുറുക്കൻMalayalam
  • Цагаан үнэгMongolian
  • Rubah ArtikMalay
  • Ашо ривезьErzya
  • MąʼiiłgaiiNavajo
  • polarrevNorwegian Bokmål
  • poolvosDutch
  • fjellrevNorwegian Nynorsk
  • Цæгатаг рувасOssetic
  • piesiecPolish
  • برفانی لومڑWestern Panjabi
  • قطبي گيدړPashto
  • Raposa-do-árticoPortuguese
  • Vulpe polarăRomanian
  • песецRussian
  • КырсаYakut
  • Arctic todScots
  • njállaNorthern Sami
  • líška polárnaSlovak
  • polarna lisicaSlovenian
  • Dhelpra artikeAlbanian
  • fjällrävSwedish
  • ஆர்க்டிக் நரிTamil
  • Ак төлкеTatar
  • หมาจิ้งจอกอาร์กติกThai
  • Artikong soroFilipino
  • kutup tilkisiTurkish
  • ПесецьUkrainian
  • قطبی لومڑUrdu
  • JäreboiVeps
  • Cáo tuyết Bắc CựcVietnamese
  • 北极狐Wu Chinese
  • 北極狐Chinese
  • Палярная лісіцаBelarusian
  • polyarnа lisitsаBulgarian
  • PolarfuchsGerman
  • SchneefuchsGerman
  • Zorra del ÁrticoSpanish
  • zorro árticoSpanish
  • PolaarrebaneEstonian
  • naaliFinnish
  • renard arctiqueFrench
  • renard polaireFrench
  • Reynard PolaireFrench
  • שועל שלגHebrew
  • FjallarefurIcelandic
  • HeimskautarefurIcelandic
  • MelrakkiIcelandic
  • RefurIcelandic
  • volpe biancaItalian
  • Volpe delle neviItalian
  • volpe polareItalian
  • Terianniaq qaqortaqKalaallisut
  • 북극여우Korean
  • lis polarnyPolish
  • vulpe-polaraRomanian
  • Арктическая лисаRussian
  • Полярная лисицаRussian
  • ÏåñåöRussian
  • Лис полярнийUkrainian
  • полярна лисицяUkrainian
  • yue=北極狐Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the ice fox

Other species in the same genus Vulpes.

LC, Least Concern
Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Red fox

Vulpes vulpes

Canidae

LC, Least Concern
Bengal fox (Vulpes bengalensis)

Bengal fox

Vulpes bengalensis

Canidae

LC, Least Concern
Cape fox (Vulpes chama)

Cape fox

Vulpes chama

Canidae

CompareIce fox vs Red foxIce fox vs Fennec foxIce fox vs Corsac foxIce fox vs Bengal fox

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the ice fox?

An adult ice fox weighs 3.3 kg – 3.6 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the ice fox live?

The ice fox has a recorded lifespan of 15 years.

Is the ice fox an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the ice fox as invasive in 1 country: Sweden. It lists it as introduced in 4 in all.

How long is the ice fox pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 52.5 days.

What kind of animal is the ice fox?

The ice fox (Vulpes lagopus) belongs to the family Canidae in the order Carnivora.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Ice fox (Vulpes lagopus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ice-fox

MLA

“Ice fox (Vulpes lagopus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ice-fox.

BibTeX
@misc{ice_fox_2026,
  title = {Ice fox (Vulpes lagopus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ice-fox},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}