The journey of a young arctic fox, which trekked more than 2,175 miles from Norway to Canada in just 76 days, has stunned researchers and shed new light on the movement of the species over vast distances of sea ice.

The animal, also known as a coastal or blue fox, set off from the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway last year and ended up on a remote island in northern Nunavut, Canada, according to a study in Polar Research, published by the Norwegian Polar Institute.

The areas are connected seasonally by sea ice, and much of the journey was completed over vast stretches of the frozen Arctic Ocean. The fox also passed through Greenland, but kept forging further west, the researchers’ data showed, moving quickly across the ice sheets where food was scarce and conditions were harsh.

While this type of arctic fox has long been known for its endurance in the barren polar climate, such a fast transcontinental journey has never been documented before.