When did the arctic fox go on the endangered species list???
It is not endangered as a species. Two subspecies are though. The world population is thus not endangered, but two Arctic fox subpopulations are. One is the subspecies Alopex lagopus semenovi on Mednyi Island (Commander Islands, Russia), which was reduced by some 85-90%, to around 90 animals, as a result of mange caused by an ear tick introduced by dogs in the 1970’s (Goltsman et al. 1996). The population is currently under treatment with antiparasitic drugs, but the result is still uncertain. The other threatened population is the one in Fennoscandia (Norway, Sweden, Finland and Kola Peninsula). This population decreased drastically around the turn of the century as a result of extreme fur prices which caused severe hunting also during population lows (Lönnberg 1927, Zetterberg 1927). The population has remained at a low density for more than 90 years, with additional reductions during the last decade (Angerbjörn et al. 1995). The total population estimate for 1997 is around 60 adults
