The setting was Russia’s frozen Lake Baikal, and photographer Dmitry Kokh was diving deep under the endless cover of ice. Below him, the lake stretched a full kilometer down. His mission was epic, and lonely—until he spotted the little face of a seal pup emerging from its icy burrow. At once, he had the precious company he’d ventured so far for.
Kokh, an award-winning wildlife photographer, traveled to the world’s deepest lake in April to realize his long-held dream of meeting and photographing Baikal seals. Known locally as nerpa (Pusa sibirica), they are notoriously elusive and only a few have succeeded in getting close to them.
