ya. 



Red 



White 



Black 



Cross 



Blue 

 FOXES 



beavers. Litters of from 2 to 5 are 

 produced in June, and the young 

 animals are cared for by the par- 

 ents until the second year. The 

 beaver is a vegetarian, and eats 

 bark, aquatic plants, berry canes, 

 buds, and leaves. A beaver colony 

 has to have an ample supply of 

 aspens, cottonwoods, or willows for 

 food, and a site where water does 

 not freeze to the bottom. 



Alaska's beaver pelts come prin- 

 cipally from the Anchorage-Su- 

 sitna-Matanuska region, the Fair- 

 banks trade area, and also the Minto 

 Lakes section. The annual take of 

 beaver nas increased generally over 

 the last few years and now averages 

 about 20,000 skins valued at 

 $300,000. 



Foxes — There are two distinct 

 species and five color variations of 

 Alaska's foxes. Beautiful red foxes 

 inhabit the entire mainland, and 

 Unimak, Umnak, and several other 

 islands in the Aleutian chain. The 



foxes are darker in the more heav- 

 ily timbered areas, and lighter in 

 open, coastal localities. Arctic 

 foxes range from the Aleutian 

 Islands north along the coast line 

 to the Arctic. The white phase oc- 

 cupies a narrow coastal strip from 

 the Kuskokwim River north to 

 Point Barrow, and eastward along 

 the Arctic shore line. In winter 

 they are silky and snowy white 

 with a black-tipped tail. In sum- 

 mer they become slate-colored. 

 The blue-coated fox is found mostly 

 in the Aleutians and the Pribilofs. 

 Lemmings, mice, hares, grouse, 

 ptarmigan, and waterfowl are fa- 

 vorite foods. Beach fleas are eaten 

 when other food is scarce. Lynx, 

 wolves, and bears are the principal 

 predators. 



Wolves occur everywhere from 

 tlie islands of Southeastern Alaska 

 to the Arctic coast, and as far west 

 on the Alaska Peninsula as Unimak 

 Island. Wolves prey on the valu- 



33 



