Svalbard Arctic Fox — Summer Tundra Hunt
999.00 د.إ
An Arctic fox in summer brown and white transitional coat on the Svalbard tundra — mid-pounce in the air above a lemming burrow, all four paws off the ground, ears forward, 2,000 kilometres from the North Pole.
Description
The Arctic fox’s mousing pounce — a 45-degree vertical leap onto suspected prey location, ears pinpointing the rodent sound through the tundra surface — is one of the most telegenic moments in arctic wildlife photography, and Svalbard’s unusually high arctic fox density from tourist refuse access makes the island one of the best accessible locations for this behaviour. This image was made during a summer wildlife survey on Spitsbergen, the largest Svalbard island, when the fox was in its transitional coat — patches of summer brown on the white winter fur revealing the seasonal moult. The fox is mid-pounce, all four feet off the ground, body angled at 45 degrees toward the burrow below. Shot at 1/2500 second on a 500mm telephoto from a prone position, the tundra vegetation — moss campion and arctic poppy — is visible in the background foreground.
