Forever the lone wolf

photos by jim brandenburg, who spent three summers thirty years ago following a pack of arctic wolves on ellesmere island, near the north pole. the wolves, raised in the isolation of the high canadian arctic, had no instinctive fear of humans, and consequently allowed jim to live with and document them.

reflecting back on his time with the wolves, he notes, “the photos were taken in an environment undergoing serious changes. climate change has altered the whole ecosystem. it means that the numbers of animals that live there are depleting rapidly and that includes the wolf population.”

he adds, “the weather has become warmer and, as a result, instead of snowing it’s now become some sort of freezing rain. that turns the ground into ice, meaning that the animals can’t get to the food. the arctic is going to be the place where we’ll see the most extreme changes. it’s heartbreaking.”