Arctic Fox, Alopex lagopus, predation on Lesser Snow Geese, Chen caerulescens, and their eggs

At Egg River Colony on Banks Island, we observed previously undocumented predation by Arctic Fox on Lesser Snow Geese and their eggs. On separate occasions, we observed (1) an Arctic Fox attack and kill a nesting Lesser Snow Goose and (2) an Arctic Fox take eggs from Lesser Snow Geese as birds were pushed off nests by a charging Muskox. Despite several studies on interactions between Arctic Foxes and nesting geese, there is, to our knowledge, no documented observation of an Arctic Fox killing a nesting goose. Thus, we suggest such mortality to be relatively uncommon and most goose parts in Arctic Fox diets to be the result from scavenging of goose carcasses, or killing of goslings and molting adults during the brood-rearing season. The observation of the fox taking eggs from geese as they were pushed off nests by a Muskox illustrates the opportunistic nature of Arctic Foxes not only in choice of diets, but also in how foods are acquired.