Photographer Terry Noah and his colleagues were snapping away on Ellesmere Island in the Arctic Circle when they encountered two animals who many found to be unexpectedly calm
Alan Johnson Social News Reporter
09:33, 06 Jan 2026Updated 09:33, 06 Jan 2026
Photographers were left stunned by an experience in the Arctic (stock)(Image: DeAgostini/Getty Images)
Photographers working in the Arctic Circle have expressed their shock after their cameras captured footage of the arrival of a number of unexpected guests. Laid on the ice, Terry Noah and his colleagues took to TikTok to share his joy at their animal encounter.
His video, which was recorded near Eureka – a research base on Ellesmere Island to the west of Greenland – left others equally as stunned with a staggering 24 million TikTok users tuning in. In it, the photographers can be seen lying low on the ice before a stunning white Arctic wolf makes it’s approach.
A second wolf follows and the pair begin to calmly check the scent of the photographers who continue to gleefully snap away from close quarters.
After one of the wolves appears to lay beside them momentarily, the animals are soon on their way unbothered by their company.
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Terry, who is the owner and operator of Ausuittuq Adventures, told his Instagram followers: “One of the best experiences I ever had, the Arctic wolf was so calm felt like I can pet it.”
And he concluded: “Well it’s been an awesome trip with these guys! Got to watch them wait on a seal hole next to an iceberg, then they tried to get a seal that was sun bathing with no luck but very cool to see!
“After that they found a seal carcass, watched them eat and rest before they approached us and continued along with their day.”
Writing in response to the TikTok footage, one person noted: “The alpha wolf just rubbed his scent on the ice so he would remember that was the spot that he met a human and that’s where they were wow smart wolves are smart animals.”
A second person concurred: “Fact – the wolf that sniffed him, was the alpha to make sure no threat, wolves are the most beautiful animals.”
A third admitted their shock” I thought Artic wolves are not friendly, but this video proved me wrong.”
Whilst a fourth TikTok user with experience of the animal pointed out: “As an Alaskan, wolves aren’t friendly but rather shy and curious, social structure is important, friend shaped things aren’t always friendly, remember this wherever you are.”
According to the The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), arctic wolves are nocturnal pack animals that hunt together, follow the lead of an alpha male, and communicate by howling.
IFAW add: “They all care for the pack’s pups, taking turns to protect and feed them. Because of their extreme habitat, Arctic wolves also have distinctive appearances and behaviours that distinguish them from other grey wolves.”
They elaborate: “The lucky few who have observed Arctic wolves in the wild note how playful and unafraid of humans they are. Unlike other wolves who have to deal with human encroachment every day, Arctic wolves have no intrinsic distrust of humans.
“Their harsh environment means that they have never been hunted or displaced by agricultural development, and they have never faced endangerment as a result. However, the world’s changing climate and the increasing industrialisation of the Arctic are likely to have devastating effects on the future of the Arctic wolf and its habitat.”