Moving across sea ice and glaciers
July 1, 2019 10:28 PM Subscribe
Fantastic arctic fox: animal walks 3,500km from Norway to Canada "Epic journey by female fox includes fastest movement rate for species ever recorded" [The Guardian]
You go, girl!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:42 PM on July 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:42 PM on July 1, 2019 [2 favorites]
This is how you successfully get away from the humans. Come up with a scheme to distract them with a scientific curiosity, make a break for it, meet up with your confederates and chew the collar off. Freedom!
posted by rhizome at 11:24 PM on July 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 11:24 PM on July 1, 2019 [3 favorites]
I just want to know what was going down on Ellesmere Island that this bad ass fox needed to get there so quick. That, or somewhere there is an Artic Hare that just can’t fucking believe they have been chased for 3500 km so far, and is tired as fuck.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:30 PM on July 1, 2019 [21 favorites]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:30 PM on July 1, 2019 [21 favorites]
155km in a day is equivalent to 4 miles an hour - a brisk walk - but that is over 24 hours. To allow any time for sleep it requires moving at running pace without cessation.
posted by rongorongo at 11:46 PM on July 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by rongorongo at 11:46 PM on July 1, 2019 [1 favorite]
What does she know?!?!?
posted by fairmettle at 1:42 AM on July 2, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by fairmettle at 1:42 AM on July 2, 2019 [6 favorites]
There was a video on r/MapPorn last week about these guys. They really get around. All I can think is that Natural Selection favored extreme walkers and now it's gotten crazy.
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:51 AM on July 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:51 AM on July 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
200km per day approaches the limits of what a human athlete can sustain long term with a bike under good conditions, and we're specifically adapted to be persistence hunters.
posted by Blasdelb at 6:05 AM on July 2, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by Blasdelb at 6:05 AM on July 2, 2019 [8 favorites]
Have spent many hours watching arctic foxes (“tiggianiaq” in Iñupiatun) on the Alaskan tundra. They’re f’ing brilliant animals. What a cool story. I shared it with a bunch of Inuit friends to much appreciation.
posted by spitbull at 9:32 AM on July 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 9:32 AM on July 2, 2019 [4 favorites]
Quentin Coldwater is looking for Alice.
posted by mecran01 at 10:46 AM on July 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mecran01 at 10:46 AM on July 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I was surprised that the ice held out long enough for the fox to complete the trip.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:44 AM on July 2, 2019
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:44 AM on July 2, 2019
155km in a day is equivalent to 4 miles an hour - a brisk walk - but that is over 24 hours. To allow any time for sleep it requires moving at running pace without cessation.
This looks quite incredible for a land mammal of this size. This paper (How Far Do Animals Go? Determinants of Day Range in Mammals) provides models for day range in mammals according to weight, diet type and order. Day range is globally a function of body mass, and in the case of Carnivora the equation is EXP(LN(body mass)*0.438)). The equation underestimates the daily range of the red fox Vulpes vulpes (3 km predicted vs 5-12 km as reported in this paper) and for wolves as well, but the numbers are of the same order of magnitude. This little arctic fox (3 kg, average 46 km/day, up to 155 km/day) has a daily range way over the predicted value, almost twice that of wolf (25 km/day), and much higher than the averages recorded previously for arctic foxes (8-24 km/day), so I'm wondering how she could possibly support her energy expenditure: she fed herself, kept warm and trotted/ran non-stop over rough terrain for more than two months.
posted by elgilito at 1:21 PM on July 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
This looks quite incredible for a land mammal of this size. This paper (How Far Do Animals Go? Determinants of Day Range in Mammals) provides models for day range in mammals according to weight, diet type and order. Day range is globally a function of body mass, and in the case of Carnivora the equation is EXP(LN(body mass)*0.438)). The equation underestimates the daily range of the red fox Vulpes vulpes (3 km predicted vs 5-12 km as reported in this paper) and for wolves as well, but the numbers are of the same order of magnitude. This little arctic fox (3 kg, average 46 km/day, up to 155 km/day) has a daily range way over the predicted value, almost twice that of wolf (25 km/day), and much higher than the averages recorded previously for arctic foxes (8-24 km/day), so I'm wondering how she could possibly support her energy expenditure: she fed herself, kept warm and trotted/ran non-stop over rough terrain for more than two months.
posted by elgilito at 1:21 PM on July 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
I seem to recall there are seabirds that overwinter in the northern icepack, but I can't recall the species. She must be a heck of a hunter, though, to be able to hunt enough calories while still keeping up that incredible pace.
posted by tavella at 2:12 PM on July 2, 2019
posted by tavella at 2:12 PM on July 2, 2019
I’ve been thinking about this since it was posted. It’s an anonymous achievement that gives me the same feelings as some work of art crafted by an anonymous, prehistoric human. Perhaps found in a cave, a beautiful piece of pottery crafted by some unknown woman 15,000 years ago.
No one will know who she was, or be able to connect the achievement with the person. But for the rest of civilized record keeping, it will stand as a great thing that was once done. An accomplishment that can only be shared and celebrated as evidence of the capacity of a whole species to strive for great things, since the individual who did it is lost to the mists of time.
It makes me really proud for the fox, as well as for all foxen, in kind of a wistful way.
posted by darkstar at 2:17 PM on July 2, 2019 [7 favorites]
No one will know who she was, or be able to connect the achievement with the person. But for the rest of civilized record keeping, it will stand as a great thing that was once done. An accomplishment that can only be shared and celebrated as evidence of the capacity of a whole species to strive for great things, since the individual who did it is lost to the mists of time.
It makes me really proud for the fox, as well as for all foxen, in kind of a wistful way.
posted by darkstar at 2:17 PM on July 2, 2019 [7 favorites]
I just want to know what was going down on Ellesmere Island that this bad ass fox needed to get there so quick. That, or somewhere there is an Artic Hare that just can’t fucking believe they have been chased for 3500 km so far, and is tired as fuck.
Now I’m imagining an epic chase movie, in the spirit of Apocalypto, or The Naked Prey, or The Warriors, except that the two film stars are an arctic fox and an arctic hare.
[SPOILER] The hare makes its way home to it’s family on Ellesmere. In the climactic scene, the hare crosses a fallen tree bridge only seconds before the fox, the tree tumbles into the rushing waters below, the fox scrambles back up on the side opposite the hare. They stare at each other across the ravine for a while, until the fox, finally denied its prey, turns and trots away. In the epilog, she grimly sets out to head back home to Norway. In the closing scene, we see a suitor that has been following her for the past thousand kilometers join her from the underbrush, and they touch noses. FIN
posted by darkstar at 2:49 PM on July 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Now I’m imagining an epic chase movie, in the spirit of Apocalypto, or The Naked Prey, or The Warriors, except that the two film stars are an arctic fox and an arctic hare.
[SPOILER] The hare makes its way home to it’s family on Ellesmere. In the climactic scene, the hare crosses a fallen tree bridge only seconds before the fox, the tree tumbles into the rushing waters below, the fox scrambles back up on the side opposite the hare. They stare at each other across the ravine for a while, until the fox, finally denied its prey, turns and trots away. In the epilog, she grimly sets out to head back home to Norway. In the closing scene, we see a suitor that has been following her for the past thousand kilometers join her from the underbrush, and they touch noses. FIN
posted by darkstar at 2:49 PM on July 2, 2019 [2 favorites]
Oh fer...”its family”, not “it’s family”, you cursed autocorrect.
posted by darkstar at 2:58 PM on July 2, 2019
posted by darkstar at 2:58 PM on July 2, 2019
This looks quite incredible for a land mammal of this size.
Fox gets eaten by wolf. Wolf gets eaten by bear. GPS keeps ticking like Captain Hook's clock.
posted by JackFlash at 4:46 PM on July 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Fox gets eaten by wolf. Wolf gets eaten by bear. GPS keeps ticking like Captain Hook's clock.
posted by JackFlash at 4:46 PM on July 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
The 155km figure did come with the caveat that the distance could have been assisted by the movement of the sea ice that the fox was standing on. That begs the question of whether the fox was dashing like crazy over a static sheet of ice - or sitting on top of a smaller iceberg watching Netflix Netflox while the wind and/or sead currents did most of the work. I don't know how fast an iceberg can move in a day - but my guess is that it could be quite far given favourable tide and wind.
posted by rongorongo at 12:51 AM on July 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 12:51 AM on July 3, 2019 [2 favorites]
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Well done, little fox. Hope you’re okay.
posted by darkstar at 10:36 PM on July 1, 2019 [5 favorites]