THE SILENT HOWL
Our first epic sighting on the Svalbard expedition surpassed anything I’d dared hope for. Naturally, we were there for polar bears. Of course. But on our very first outing aboard the zodiac, we ended up cruising into something entirely unexpected: three Arctic foxes, waiting near the water’s edge like mischievous spirits of the tundra.
That surprise encounter kept us out there for hours in minus 15ºC, though none of us felt the cold at that point. These little dynamos were brimming with energy, darting and tumbling across the snow as if performing just for us. I wasn’t quite prepared for that level of excitement so early on, but the thrill of it was magnetic. I was all in for the foxes.
Then, in the middle of the chaos, one paused. It sat, still and striking against the frozen landscape, and let out sharp barks. I managed to capture that fleeting moment in a still frame, a lucky freeze of something that felt eternal. That image became my favourite from the encounter.
I call it ‘The Silent Howl’. .