Victoria and Mill Bay residents among wildlife photography contest winners (PHOTOS)

The BC SPCA has announced the winners of its annual Wildlife-in-Focus Photography Contest, with some stellar photos of BC’s local wildlife across the province making the shortlist.

Awards are given out in three categories: Backyard Habitats, highlighting humans’ special relationship with wild animals in our backyards; Wild Settings, featuring photos of animals in their natural habitats; and People’s Choice, which is awarded to the photo entry that earned the most votes from the public.

The BC SPCA also chose several honourable mentions to go along with the winners.

With so many fantastic entries, the judges said the choices were especially difficult this year.

“More than 450 photos were submitted celebrating BC’s diverse wildlife and supporting our advocacy for wild animals,” said Hailey Boehner, BC SPCA’s wild animal welfare specialist.

“Our team thanks all the participants for sharing their amazing photos of BC’s incredible wildlife and helping to raise over $9,400 to help the BC SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre care for injured, sick and orphaned wild animals.”

In the Backyard Habitats category, Heather Rolling from Fort St. John was awarded first place for her photo titled “Pipeyard Fox.”

Second place in the Backyard Habitats category was given to Peter Cortes of Victoria for his photo of two bald eagles on a totem pole called “Crown of the Territory.”

Third place in the category went to Sam Gorick from Mill Bay, who photographed two raccoons together, titled “A Little Smooch.”

In the Wild Settings category, Alan Milnes took home first prize for a stunning photo of an Orca jumping out of the water while chasing a Dall’s porpoise near Prince Rupert.

Martin Ross from Cranbrook was awarded second place for his photos of sea otters, while Cian Cain of Peachland won third place for his photo of a white-crowned sparrow.

In the People’s Choice category, which is awarded based on the number of votes from the public a photo gets, Kim Edwards of West Kelowna won for her capture of a Great Horned Owl.

Honourable mentions this year were awarded to Sebastien Nadeau of Squamish, Noah Kumada of Nanaimo, Sandy Bowie of Sooke, Kieran Skerlec of West Kelowna, Mike Douthwright of Kamloops, Joyce Xu of Burnaby, Lucas Friesen of Vancouver) and Nikki Fosberry of 100 Mile House.

To see all of this year’s entries, visit the BC SPCA website here.