2,000 arctic fox flown to China from Denmark

A cargo aircraft carrying 2,000 arctic foxes from Denmark landed in Qingdao, Shandong province this week with the goal of improving the quality of the breed in China.

The foxes are superior breeds worth more than $1.5 million, said Zhan Yifei, an official from the Qingdao airport inspection and quarantine bureau. The arctic fox, also known as a white fox or blue fox, is a hardy animal that can survive frigid arctic temperatures as low as -50 C (-58 F) in the treeless lands where it makes its home.

Li Zhongdong, deputy manager of the international freight department of Qingdao Airport Logistics Co, said it wasn’t easy to unload the animals from the plane.

“Arctic foxes are sensitive and are inclined to fight each other, especially after a long journey in uncomfortable surroundings like a closed flight cabin,” Li said.

The foxes have been imported by Heilongjiang Bolong Animal husbandry Limited Liability Company, which will raise and breed them in Mohe, a county at the highest latitude in China. Bolong is a leading company specializing in fox fur business.

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XINHUA/WANG KAI People watch snowman sculptures at an ice and snow park in Harbin, the capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. Altogether, 2,018 cute snowmen were displayed to greet the year 2018.