3. A SENSATIONAL MIGRATION

Barely one year old, an Arctic fox has likely set a record for its species, trekking more th

3. A SENSATIONAL MIGRATION

Barely one year old, an Arctic fox has likely set a record for its species, trekking more than 3,500 kilometres from Norway to Canada in just 76 days.The fox’s great adventure started in Spitsbergen, a large island in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, on March 26, 2018. Norwegian researchers followed the young female fox, fitted with a tracking device, as it travelled across masses of sea ice at an uncanny rate of speed.The fox clocked 1,512 kilometres in 21 days and arrived in Greenland on April 16. Her journey brought her to Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, in time for Canada Day on July 1, 2018.

The researchers believe the Arctic fox’s journey is one of the longest ever recorded.The results left scientists wide-eyed — and skeptical.“We first did not believe it was true,” researcher Eva Fuglei said. “We just had to keep up with what the fox did.”

The route the fox took over 76 days from Norway to Canada is depicted on this map. Fuglei said she thought maybe the fox had died or made its way onto a boat, causing the satellite data to seem skewed.But “there are no boats in that area” deep in the ice, Fuglei said.Their article said the Arctic fox species has “exceptional mobility and endurance,” especially in polar environments, and that while migration was expected, it was her speed of travel that astonished them.Roaming across icy terrain, the fox moved an average of 46.3 kilometres per day. The most it travelled in a single day was 155 kilometres across an ice sheet in Greenland.

It did, however, slow down on two occasions — travelling less than 10 kilometres per day — possibly due to tough land, weather or hunting opportunities, the scientists said.The fox likely survived on “marine food resources,” like seabirds, before settling on Ellesmere Island. There, she feasted on lemmings, a small Arctic rodent.

As for why the little fox made the trip, scientists have no easy answer.The ice was “crucial” for the fox to take the spanning journey, according to researchers, which raises concerns about what may happen to the species as sea ice melts and patterns change.Norway’s climate and environment minister pointed the finger at climate change.“This is another example of how important sea ice is to wildlife in the Arctic,” Ola Elvestuen told the institute.“The warming in the north is frighteningly fast. We must cut emissions quickly to prevent the sea ice from disappearing all summer.”

The Arctic has shown consistent and steady warming and ice melt over the years. While the study of ice melt in the Arctic is ongoing, the tracking of this particular fox stopped short this year. The satellite transmitter attached to the young fox stopped working in February. (Source – Wikipedia)

Use the information in the passage above to answer the following questions –

Q.(i) – The travel route of the fox was as described below –

A –Began from Greenland B- Nunavut to Svalbard

C- Canada to Norway D- Spitsbergen to Ellesmere

Q.(ii) What is the most remarkable or surprising feature about the fox’s travel?

A- The fox travelled such a long distance over continents

B – The speed at which it completed the journey

C- The migration pattern of polar animals

D – The fact that it survived in the icy terrain

Q.(iii) What was the most important factor that was essential for its migration, and why?

Q. (iv) How is the worry of climate activists and environmentalists linked to the migration of the fox?​