He finally saw it, but it didn’t go according to plan

When veterinarian and photographer Chris Brown finally set out on his dream vacation of driving a van through Iceland, he had two goals: to see the northern lights and meet a wild fox.

“It’s the most elusive of all the Arctic animals,” Brown told The Dodo.

While exploring the country, Brown got tons of incredible photos of other wildlife – but not the one he wanted to see the most.

Brown did a ton of research on where to find wild foxes and settled on the Snefellsnes Peninsula. He walked around the area for hours and kept his eyes on his furry friends, but saw no sign of them. One evening he decided to go searching at nightfall when he knew they would be more active. He was determined to see a fox finally.

“I was just sitting there in the dark, amazed at the way the northern lights were dancing over me, and I knew one of the foxes would eventually show enough curiosity to investigate,” Brown said.

Finally, the moment came. The fox appeared in the dark, and Brown was thrilled. He grabbed his camera to capture the magnificent animal in all its glory – but the pictures didn’t turn out quite the way he had imagined.

It was so dark, and the fox was so fast, that Brown only managed to capture a blurry figure with glowing eyes floating in the darkness. It is impossible to tell if this animal is a fox, but Brown will always know the truth.

Although the fox was inquisitive about Brown, his camera, and his flashlight, it kept a safe distance the whole time. Nevertheless, Brown was satisfied. He had reached his goal. Under the northern lights, he saw a fox. All was well.

Afterward, Brown posted the pictures online, and people can’t help but laugh when they see them. And while these aren’t the pictures he planned to share, he’s glad they turned out the way they did.

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“I think what I liked most about it was that as a vet and a photographer, everyone expects you to have a hotline for the best wildlife encounters,” Brown said. “And this was such a far-flung encounter! But [the fox] probably has the cutest blurry silhouette of any animal on the planet!”