The parental task of the male arctic fox has always been debated. Some people say they bring food to the den, some say they do not take any parental responsibility. From what I've seen over the the past 5 years it differs from family to family. Sometimes the female does not allow any male to come close to the den...perhaps scared of her foxkits being eaten. Sometimes the female will allow the male to bring in food...the male will stay at a proper distance from the den and the female will go towards him and collect it. And this year the male did only seem to play a role in the development of the hunting behavior of his offspring. He would stay at very large distance...waiting until the foxkits would approach him...he would play with them and guide them to their hunting area's....and after that let them return to the den...sometimes under pressure of the worried mother.
This moment captured was one of the only times I was able to photograph the male when approaching the den.
Wildlife IOTW 10/30/2008 Jasper Doest
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