Image of a red and Arctic fox after the red hunted the Arctic in the Wapusk National Parc in Manitoba. Don Gutoski photo.
An incredible image captured by Canadian physcian Don Gutoski has earned the photographer the honor of 2015 Wildlife photographer of the Year. Gutoski works as an accident and emergency physcian out of London, Ontario and moonlights as an amateur photographer. His graphic photo won the international competition organized by the Natural history museum in London, U. K. by beating out 42,000 entries from 96 countries.
Gutoski’s image, A Tale of Two Foxes, was taken in the protected polar bear denning area Wapusk National Park at Cape Churchill to the east of Churchill.
With warming temperatures and natural species cycles, red foxes have overlapped more territory with Arctic foxes over the past decade. Some years one species will be more predominant than the other and red fox now seem more prevalent in recent years.
The photo was taken after three hours in roughly -30C temperatures. When the red fox was close enough with its fallen prey, Gutoski snapped the photo. The red fox then gathered the carcass remains and cached it out of sight for a later meal.
Contest jury member Kathy Moran, also senior editor for natural history projects for National Geographic, called it “one of the strongest single storytelling photographs I have ever seen.” She also added, “The immediate impact of this photograph is that it appears as if the red fox is slipping out of its winter coat. What might simply be a straightforward interaction between predator and prey struck the jury as a stark example of climate change, with red foxes encroaching on Arctic fox territory.”
Will you be a polar bear this Halloween? Natural Habitat Adventures photo.
This Halloween Animal quiz is a fun way to see what animal you should be for Halloween. Natural Habitat Adventures has come up with this as a fun way to celebrate the upcoming holiday and get ready to dress in your animal personality. Halloween in Churchill is quite different from the ones we experience in the rest of the world. Polar bear patrols with floodlights search the town area street by street while children go trick or treating to ensure their safety. However, in Churchill, kids are not allowed to dress as polar bears or in white for that matter. Keep an eye out for an exciting blog post this coming Halloween from Churchill!
Churchill experienced one of the earliest snowfalls of a polar bear season in many years yesterday. Chilly temperatures and white ground cover have provided nice early season conditions for polar bears out on the tundra. These photos of a mother and cub are exciting fresh images to start the new season. This is looking like it could be one of the best polar bear seasons in a long time!
First polar bears at the tundra lodge in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Jason Luoma photo.
This short and concise video by explore.org gives the main elements of how a polar bear maintains body warmth during the cold winter months. Churchill will be active with polar bears for the next couple of months. Stay tuned for daily posts on all the action Enjoy!
