Arctic animals spend most of the year fighting for survival in the icy darkness. But come spring, they thrive in a brief season of plenty, when the ice thaws and days are endless.
It was a privilege to spend summer in the Svalbard archipelago above the Arctic Circle, immersed in the magical pulse of nature’s most wild heart.


Arctic fox poses on lichen-covered rocks in Svalbard


Arctic fox preys on kittiwake chicks in Svalbard


Two Arctic fox kits play in Svalbard

Arctic fox sleeps in Svalbard





Atlantic walrus on the shore of the Arctic Ocean

Atlantic puffins roosting on a grassy slope in Iceland

Polar bear on the ice pack north of Svalbard

Polar bear rests on land on Svalbard

Collared polar bear feeds on a seal on the ice in Svalbard with ivory gull nearby

Dovekies or little auks perch on rocks in Svalbard