Arctic foxes live in the Arctic tundra across the northernmost parts of the world, especially along the polar coasts of North America, Europe, and Asia.

Quick Scoop

  • Arctic foxes have a circumpolar range, meaning they are found all around the Arctic Circle rather than in just one region.
  • They mostly live on Arctic tundra and sea ice, beyond the point where trees grow and landscapes are dominated by snow, ice, and low vegetation.
  • Major areas where arctic foxes live include northern Canada, Alaska (USA), Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland), Svalbard, and northern Russia and Siberia.

Habitat Details

  • Their core habitat is frozen Arctic and alpine tundra: open, treeless land with permafrost, low shrubs, mosses, and lichens.
  • Arctic foxes often stay near coasts, pack ice, and islands, where they scavenge marine food and follow polar bears or seabird colonies for leftovers.

Do They Live Anywhere Else?

  • In North America, they extend south only as far as places like Hudson Bay and some northern boreal forest edges in Canada and Alaska, but they remain tied to cold, open terrain.
  • Arctic foxes do not live in Antarctica; they are restricted to the Arctic region only.

Extra Little Twist

  • Different color “morphs” of arctic fox use slightly different micro-habitats: the white morph is more common inland on snowy tundra, while the darker blue morph sticks closer to rocky coasts and sea cliffs.
  • Some populations travel long distances over sea ice when food is scarce, while others stay resident near rich coastal food sources like goose colonies.

TL;DR: Arctic foxes live across the Arctic Circle on tundra and sea ice in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, and northern Russia, but not in Antarctica.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.