Review of Arctic fox. Life at the top of the world, by Gary Hamilton

Abstract

The Arctic fox is the only truly Arctic species among the terrestrial carnivorous mammals of the world. It is distributed across the circumpolar Arctic region. Like polar bears, Arctic foxes regularly traverse the pack ice of the polar basin, a fact that astonished Fridtjof Nansen during his attempt to reach the North Pole more than 100 years ago. However, despite its unique lifestyle, which in some respects is more fascinating than that of the polar bear, there has been no popular book (except a book for children) aimed at compiling our present knowledge about the Arctic fox for an international audience. This omission is in stark contrast to all of the writing about the polar bear. Finally, just such an Arctic fox book is now available, written by the freelance journalist Gary Hamilton.