Arctic Foxes Build Gardens On Tundra

Winnipeg-based biologists working near Churchill have discovered that Arctic foxes  are "ecosystem engineers".

Their organic waste and the remains of the animals they kill allow almost three times as much vegetation to bloom around their dens compared to elsewhere on the tundra, according to University of Manitoba biologists James Roth, John Markham, Tazarve Gharajehdaghipour and Paul Fafard.

Arctic fox den gardens in August 2015

The plants attract herbivores such as caribou, lemmings and hares, while the remains of geese killed by foxes attract scavengers such as polar bears, wolves, gulls and ravens.
More: CBC News