Question

Why is fur of arctic fox is white in winter and brown in summer?

Answer 1

The arctic fox's color changes in order to adapt to its environment. During winter, the fox's pelts are white in order to blend inconspicuously with the snow while during the summer their pelts change to a gray or brown. This is in order to blend in with the ground, as there is no snow in the arctic throughout the summer.

Answer 2

Over the winter the arctic fox has a heavy white coat, but when early summer temperatures begin to melt the snow cover, the coat is shed for a thinner, two-tone brown pelage. White fur not only provides camouflage in winter but adds warmth. A pigment called melanin, absent in white fur, gives the fox its brown summer coat. The hair shafts of white fur are hollow, trapping warm air from the animal’s body heat and acting as insulation much the same way as a down coat does for a human wearer.