Page 18 - North Haven Magazine Issue 32 Winter 2024

C
by Sally Brockett
S Snow Camouflage
now
amouflage

FOR HIDING AND HUNTING

any animals are predators, but they are also prey to other animals. Camouflage is vital for their survival and continuation of the species. It
Menables them to hide in their environments while hunting to improve their chances of success. It also helps them hide from the predators
that are hunting them. Some animals use snow camouflage during the winter because their natural coloring during other seasons would make
them stand out in the winter environment. Let’s learn about some of these mammals and birds that can change their colors!

The Artic Fox lives in the tundra or moun- cludes several different species. You may be are a smaller species of the more common
tains of the Artic region. These foxes have familiar with ferrets, which are distant cous- long-tailed weasel. Ermines molt and grow
adapted for survival in the frigid environ- ins of weasels, but belong to the same scien- pristine white fur for the winter regardless of
ment. They have short, rounded ears, short tific family. Weasels are small mammals with where they live. The wealthy and royalty used
muzzles or noses, and fur on the soles of their an elongated, slender body, rounded ears, ermine fur for clothing and décor. Both wea-
paws. Like a polar bear, their skin is dark to a pointy nose, and large eyes. They live in sels and ermines, with their small furry bod-
help absorb and retain the heat. Their furry woodlands, stone walls, hedgerows, and tall ies and big eyes, are cute and fun to watch,
tails are about twelve inches long and are grass in many regions of the world. They are but they will never be nice pets due to their
used to wrap around their bodies for warmth very agile and active with a very high meta- vicious hunting habits.
while sleeping. bolic rate. They need to kill and eat a quarter
to a third of their body weight each day. They Snowshoe Hares are another mammal
are very efficient hunters and eat small mam- well-known for its use of snow camouflage.
mals such as mice, voles, lemmings, birds, Hares and rabbits are related but there are
young rabbits, and eggs. Farmers perceive differences in appearance and behavior.
them as friend and foe because they manage Hares are larger than rabbits and have much
the population of mice and other vermin that bigger hind legs and toes, hence the name
eat the farmers’ grains, but they also create “snowshoe”. The powerful hind legs assist
havoc in the hen house. them when leaping through the snow to es-
cape from predators. The extra-large toes,
with added fur covering, is another adapta-
tion that helps them power through heavy
snow. The hares are white in the winter to
Artic Fox with winter fur. hide from predators, but molt in the spring to
reveal a reddish-brown fur that helps camou-
flage them in the rocks and brush. However,
The Artic fox makes it home in a burrow and the tips of their ears are always black and dis-
hunts during the day or night. Their diet is tinguish them from other large rabbits. Their
varied, consisting of rodents, birds, remains large ears enable them to hear extremely well
of bear kills, and vegetation. They may raise and alert them to predators.
as many as 20 pups in a litter each year. In the
wild, these foxes may only live about three Weasel in snow camouflage.
years, but they can live up to 10 years in a
zoo.
Weasels are territorial and will occupy an
During the spring, summer, and fall, the artic area as large as 20 acres. They will have sev-
fox fur is grayish-brown to help them blend eral dens within this space, and the females
in with the tundra grasses and vegetation. As maintain their own territory, with some
the temperatures drop lower, the fur changes overlap. The female usually raises one litter
to its white phase. Once the fur has complet- of 3 – 6 kits each year.
ed this change-over, only the dark eyes and
nose will be visible against the white snow, Weasels are typically a shade of brown, gray,
making the fox very difficult to see. As the or black on their back with a white or yel- Snowshoe hare with winter coat.
winter days begin to warm up, the white fur low belly and chest. Those that live in high
is gradually shed until the fox becomes gray- altitudes with snow in the winter shed their Snowshoes hares live on mountain tops in
brown again. During this shedding process, summer coats and become white with a black the coniferous and boreal forests. They are
there will be patches of white mixed with tip on their tail. This allows them to blend in night-time foragers, seeking plants, grasses,
gray-brown fur. This is even beneficial be- with their habitat and hunt more successful- flowers, and young tree growth. The females
cause there will be patches of snow that have ly. have up to four litters a year with up to eight
not melted and the fox can still blend in with babies in the litters. They are common in
the environment. Ermines will come to mind when thinking their natural habitat but many only live a
about weasels turning white in the winter. year. Their population is not threatened be-
In American English, the term Weasel, in- Ermines, also called short-tailed weasels, cause they produce many young.

18 North Haven Magazine - Winter Issue 2024