Arctic fox walks 2,000 miles from Norway to Canada

An arctic fox has taken on a trip which would make any intrepid explorer proud!

Starting in Norway, in Europe, she travelled more than 2,000 miles across the Arctic desert all the way to Ellesmere Island in Canada, in North America.

Researchers were amazed to discover the fox had made an epic journey in the space of just 76 days.

"We first did not believe it was true," said Eva Fuglei, who tracked the fox on its journey near the North Pole.

The brave fox travelled 2000 miles from Norway across the Arctic ice to Greenland over just three months

They originally thought the fox might have been picked up by a boat, but soon realised that this was not possible.

"There are no boats that go so far up in the ice. So we just had to keep up with what the fox did," said Eva.

The fox was being tracked as part of research by the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.

She travelled at an average speed of 28.8 miles a day! That's the same as travelling from Manchester to Liverpool every day for 76 days.

How important is sea ice?

"This is another example of how important sea ice is to wildlife in the Arctic," said Norway's climate and environment minister, Ola Elvestuen.

Ice sheets in the North Pole are an important way for species to travel - particularly during migration seasons.

Global warming and climate change have caused the ice in both the North and South Poles to shrink at a very fast rate.

Without the ice, many animals will not be able to migrate or find new sources of food.

"The warming in the north is frighteningly fast. We must cut emissions quickly to prevent the sea ice from disappearing all summer," Elvestuen concluded.