Behind the Image
Italian wolves have come a long way since numbers dwindled towards extinction – far enough to feel the sand between their toes.
Tracking down a wolf on the Tuscan coast
2017
Bruno had been tracking wolves on a remote stretch of the Tuscan coast for four days when he photographed this individual at the water’s edge, sniffing the spray thrown off the rolling surf. “As far as I know, this is the first image of a wolf on the Mediterranean shore,” he says. “The wolf is often seen as a symbol of wildness, yet here it is in an environment that is usually exploited and devoid of wildlife.”
Following centuries of persecution and habitat loss, the Italian wolf – a subspecies of grey wolf – has made a dramatic recovery in Italy in the past 40 years, thanks to protected status granted in 1971 and a resurgence of its fallow deer and wild boar prey. Numbers have climbed to around 2,000, with the animals recolonising many former habitats, including the Mediterranean maquis – a tangle of dense shrubland that clothes the coast.
Wolf at the shore
Bruno had envisioned this image for a decade, and it was thanks to a tip-off from a scientist monitoring the species that he found himself patrolling the windswept shore of one of the last wild beaches in Italy. “Tracking the wolves was both exhilarating and exhausting,” he recalls. “I would walk up and down at sunrise and sunset, trying to keep a low profile. Sand constantly blew into my face and over my equipment, and walking on the soft ground carrying a heavy backpack was very difficult.”
Dusk was falling when Bruno spotted five animals emerging from the maquis, exploring the beach and playing with the driftwood. “Seeing a carnivore that we usually associate with mountain habitats on a Mediterranean beach underlines the flexibility and resilience of the species,” says Bruno. “I hope the wolves have a future here, free of conflict with humans.”