Whether you’re spending your summer vacation relaxing in your backyard or adventuring into the wilderness, the B.C. SPCA wants to show off your best wildlife pictures.
Amateur photographers can enter the fifth annual Wildlife-In-Focus Photography Contest by submitting digital photos until Sept. 30. The contest is a fundraiser supporting the society’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre on southern Vancouver Island, where more than 2,500 orphaned and injured wild animals are cared for every year.
“With the nation’s greatest diversity of wildlife in our own province, we are excited to help backyard and amateur photographers showcase these amazing animals,” said Sara Dubois, manager of wildlife services for the B.C. SPCA, in a news release.
Some of the photos entered in previous contests have been featured in the B.C. SPCA’s AnimalSense and Bark magazines, local newspapers and even a book City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle, authored by journalist Nicholas Read.
The annual contest encourages participants to explore greenspaces, roadsides, beaches and even backyards to find striking images that represent the resiliency of local wildlife living at the interface with humans. Wildlife includes free-living birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects, but not exotic, feral or domestic animals, or wildlife in zoos or rehabilitation facilities.
Prizes will be awarded for the top three photos in each of two categories: wild settings and urban habitats. Wild settings photos should feature animals in their natural habitats. Urban habitats should highlight people’s special relationship with animals in their backyards.
The contest is open to all adult (age 14 years and up) backyard and amateur photographers residing in B.C. Learn more at spca.bc.ca/wildlife-in-focus.
For more information about the contest, please e-mail contest@wildarc.com.