A talented Nanaimo resident won this year’s title for Wildlife Photographer of the Year, concluding London’s Natural History Museum’s 60th annual contest.
Marine conservation journalist Shane Gross submitted a captivating image of tadpoles swimming through the water, aptly named ‘The Swarm of Life’.
Shown in the image are a drove of inky-black and gold western toad tadpoles swimming through plants and algae in a lake near Campbell River.
According to a media release, the judges said that this image perfectly demonstrates how beautiful the natural world can be wherever we look, and illustrates how animals, plants and environment are all linked.
“The jury was captivated by the mix of light, energy and connectivity between the environment and the tadpoles,” explains Kathy Moran, Photo Editor and Chair of the Jury for Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
“We were equally excited by the addition of a new species to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year archive.”
Dr Jeff Streicher, the museum’s curator of amphibians, highlighted how fascinating the life cycle of amphibians is, particularly because of their wide range of larval behaviours.
And with Gross’ image, we’re seeing an amphibian produce thousands of larvae within a single pond, which is where this schooling behaviour appears.
‘“In the species of toads and frogs that have aquatic larvae there are a couple of interesting schooling behaviours that have evolved where, just like fish, the tadpoles will stick together,” said Streicher.
“Especially early in the breeding season there’ll often be scenarios like you see in the picture where a water body is just loaded with these recently hatched tadpoles.”
For 60 years, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has revealed the beauty, wonder and vulnerability of the natural world.
This year’s competition is said to have received a record-breaking 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories.
Each highlights the diversity of life on our planet, from falcons hunting butterflies and glittering seaweed to dolphins swimming through submerged forests.
The awarded images have been placed in an exhibition in London, England, that opened on Friday, October 11th.
