An Arctic Fox Calling in Svalbard
An Arctic Fox almost invisible in the snow, a distant call across the valley and an unforgettable encounter before my Svalbard expedition had even begun.
As with expeditions in Svalbard generally, I was required to arrive in Longyearbyen at least a day before departure. With the risk of flight delays and a ship that can’t simply wait for late passengers, that extra day provides some essential contingency before joining the expedition.
For my return to Svalbard in spring 2025, rather than spend that day in town, I had arranged a private trip with a polar guide through Snowfox Travel to look for Arctic Foxes.
My guide, Laia Soler, collected me from my hotel and we headed out into the snow. Laia had spent many hours watching and searching for the foxes around Longyearbyen and knew the area well, but finding an Arctic Fox in a vast, almost entirely white landscape is far from easy.
After walking and searching for some time, we began hearing foxes calling somewhere across the valley.
Then, to my amazement, Laia spotted one.!
It was on the other side of the valley, probably almost half a kilometre away, apparently asleep amongst the snow and rocks. Even after Laia had pointed out exactly where it was, I couldn’t find it through my binoculars. Its white winter coat provided such extraordinary camouflage that it simply disappeared into the landscape.
We began making our way across the valley. As we got closer, I eventually managed to pick it out. We approached carefully and slowly before sitting down in the snow at a respectful distance.
The fox remained completely unphased by our presence. It simply continued sleeping.
It was a wonderful opportunity to sit quietly and watch an Arctic Fox at rest, and also to appreciate just how perfectly adapted these animals are to their environment. From a distance I had been unable to see it even when I knew where to look; now, much closer, its white coat still seemed to merge almost completely into the snow.
Then something changed.
Another fox began calling in the distance.
Our sleeping fox stirred, raised its head and listened….
It eventually got to its feet and began calling back..!
The transformation from the sleeping animal we had been watching only moments earlier was wonderful. It repeatedly lifted its head and called across the valley, responding to a fox that at this point we still couldn’t see.
For me, this was the moment that turned an already special encounter into something truly unforgettable. I had been able to photograph an Arctic Fox at remarkably close range, but now we were watching completely natural behaviour unfold in front of us.
The fox remained alert, looking out across the valley as the calls continued.
Eventually, we saw movement in the distance. The other fox had appeared and was making its way towards us.
It was the first fox’s mate.!
The pair came together before eventually setting off up the mountainside, leaving us sitting in the snow watching them disappear into the Arctic landscape.
It was an incredibly intimate encounter with two remarkable animals, made all the more memorable by how it had begun. Less than an hour earlier I hadn’t even been able to find the sleeping fox through my binoculars from across the valley. We had then been able to sit quietly with it as it slept, watch it wake to the sound of its mate, hear the pair calling to one another across the landscape and finally see them leave together.
And all of this happened before my Svalbard expedition had even begun.!
Explore more from Svalbard
See more of my Arctic wildlife photography, including Arctic Foxes, Polar Bears and other wildlife photographed in Svalbard and across the High Arctic.
Or read the full story of my 2025 Svalbard expedition, from searching for Polar Bears amongst the pack ice to encounters with Arctic Foxes, reindeer and walrus.