An arctic fox walked more than 4,415 kilometres from northern Norway to Canadasa国际传媒檚 far north in four months, Norwegian researchers said.

The Norwegian Polar Institute reported the young female fox left her birth place on Norwaysa国际传媒檚 Svalbard archipelago on March 1, 2018 and reached Canadasa国际传媒檚 Ellesmere Island by way of Greenland on July 1, 2018.

The ground the small fox cumulatively covered over those four months was among the most ever recorded for an arctic fox seeking a place to settle down and breed, the institute said in a research article subtitled sa国际传媒淥ne femalesa国际传媒檚 long run across sea ice.sa国际传媒�

Institute scientists monitored the foxsa国际传媒檚 movements with a satellite tracking device they fitted her with in July 2017 near her native habitat by a glacier on Norwaysa国际传媒檚 Spitsbergen island. She stayed close to home then gradually ventured out until she left the island on March 26, 2018.

During the walk to Canada, the roughly two-year-old fox moved at an average rate of 46.3 kilometres per day, the Norwegian scientists said.

sa国际传媒淭he short span of time spent covering such a distance highlights the exceptional movement capacity of this small-sized carnivore species,sa国际传媒� they said.

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The distance between the foxsa国际传媒檚 natal den and where she settled on Ellesmere Island was 1,789 kilometres if travelled in a straight line, according to the institute.

The sea ice allows Norwaysa国际传媒檚 arctic foxes to reach Greenland and then North America, though itsa国际传媒檚 not known why they leave their birth places in search of places to breed, the researchers said.

The animals, which have thick fur to survive cold environments and live to about age four, subsist on fish, marine birds and lemmings.

The Associated Press

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