Announcing the winners of the 2023 Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year competition

 

View this email in your browser IN THIS EMAIL Announcing the winners of the 2023 Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year competition Sleeping giant: Inside the Mount Meager volcano Ottawa's Pinhey sand dunes An Eagle-Eye Tours adventure to Patagonia Announcing the winners of the 2023 Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year competition Canadian Geographic is pleased to honour 15 photographers for their outstanding images of Canadian wildlife By Thomas Lundy and Alexandra Pope  A juvenile red-throated loon shakes off water in dreamy evening light in the St. Lawrence Estuary at Le Bic, Que. The birds often stop on the south shore of the St. Lawrence on their way to nesting grounds on the Côte-Nord. Rimouski, Que.-based photographer Jean-Christophe Lemay is Canadian Geographic's Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year. (Photo: Jean-Christophe Lemay) An Arctic fox in its summer coat trots nimbly across the tundra under the midnight sun. A northern gannet returns to its crowded colony with nesting material. A raft of curious sea otters bobs in the Pacific waters off western Vancouver Island, their attention caught by a group of sea kayakers. The winning images of Canadian Geographic's 2023 Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year competition showcase both the awe-inspiring biodiversity of this country and the talent of our photography community. For this edition of our most popular photography competition, we are pleased to recognize one photographer whose work stood out among the more than 14,000 entries: Jean-Christophe Lemay is our Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year and wins the grand prize of $5,000. Read on to learn more about Lemay and see the photos that most impressed our judges: wildlife photographers Michelle Valberg and Ryan Tidman, Canadian Geographic director of brand and creative Javier Frutos, and the editorial staff of Canadian Geographic. Keep reading Sleeping giant: Inside the Mount Meager volcano Something melted a hole through the glacier above the Mount Meager Volcano in 2016. A perilous expedition ventured deep inside the cave to find out, did the volcano wake up? By Christina Frangou Christian Stenner (in red) and Kathleen Graham exit the upper entrance to the cave below Mount Meager's Job Glacier. On this descent, they discovered the volcano's fumerole, from which they took samples. (Photo: Adam Walker) Christian Stenner walked across British Columbia's Job Glacier and came to a hard stop. At his feet, the icy ground ended at a precipice. On the other side, he could see a cave. Stenner was looking into a seven-metre-wide chasm. Across it, toxic steam gushed from a tunnel, obscuring what lay behind. The air reeked of rotten eggs — a warning sign of hydrogen sulfide gurgling up from somewhere inside.  Over there, Stenner thought, is where I need to be. He decided to swing himself across the pit by a rope anchored to the cave's entrance. Stenner checked his rope and jumped as far as he could. He didn't quite make it across, and as he swung back and forth like a pendulum over the pit, he pumped his legs to gather momentum. His breath echoed loudly through the respirator covering his face. Each inhale ate away at the supply of compressed air held in a tank on his back.  Then, a crunch: his crampon stuck into the ice on the other side of the chasm. He pulled himself onto the ledge and into a space where no human had been before. Keep reading We want to hear from YOU! We value your feedback at Canadian Geographic and want to know what you think of our content. Let us know which stories resonated with you by sending us a note at editor@canadiangeographic.ca Ottawa's Pinhey sand dunes The push to rehabilitate a remarkable ecosystem at the edge of Ottawa, the little known remnants of an ancient sea By Gavin Charles The Piney sand dunes in the foreground with the Ottawa suburbs and, in the distance, highrises along the Ottawa River. This area was once submerged under the Champlain Sea. (Photo: Colin Rowe/Can Geo) Just 20 minutes from Parliament Hill, a quiet forest trail wends its way to what looks for all the world like a land-locked beach. There's no water in sight, just a series of dunes that seem to have been randomly dumped in the woods. These are the Pinhey sand dunes. This was seashore once, but only the dunes remember. Some 10,000 years ago, all this fine white sand was submerged under the Champlain Sea, a landlocked body of salt water left after the retreat of glaciers that covered North America. The dunes serve as a reminder of the ancient landscape that once was — and just how quickly humans can transform the landscape. Today, four scattered dunes are vestiges of a single, much larger dune that swept over the area before city planners in the 1950s launched a tree planting program, introducing the tolerant and lumber-ready landscape. As the trees thrived, the organic matter they deposited on the sand began to transform the dunes into a pine forest. Keep reading TRAVEL WITH CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC  Featured trip: Patagonia Birds and Wildlife Jump on board as we explore untamed Patagonia, where some of the world's most picturesque landscapes are filled with abundant marine and terrestrial wildlife. Southern Chile and Argentina offer exceptional close-up viewing of coastal species such as southern right whales and elephant seals in the area around Peninsula Valdes, while further south one can find king, gentoo and Magellanic penguins in the straits of Tierra del Fuego. As many species of penguins can be found here as one can hope to see on an average Antarctic journey, and even leopard seals are a possibility! Further inland, we find the best puma (or mountain lion) viewing on the planet. With the impressive Torres del Paine as towering backdrops, we'll be guaranteed to observe and photograph guanacos, rheas, and condors roaming free in their natural settings, and with some patience, we hope to see puma up close. It's springtime in Patagonia and all of the breeding birds will be showing their best. These include austral parakeet, Chilean flamingo, chocolate-vented tyrant, flightless steamer-duck and perhaps the endangered Magellanic plover. Meet your ambassadors: Kim Gray and David Gray Learn more Get inspired! A wild ride through northern Patagonia, Argentina A packing trip on horseback brings an international group of women together at the top of the world By Liz Beatty Check out these other upcoming trips: - Essential Peru with Jill Heinerth - Patagonia Birds and Wildlife with Kim Gray - Saskatchewan Whooping Cranes with Carol Patterson Sent this email by a friend? Subscribe to our newsletters and stay up to date with everything happening at Canadian Geographic!  Subscribe CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC THANKS OUR ADVERTISERS. BECOME ONE Copyright © 2023 Canadian Geographic, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Canadian Geographic 50 Sussex Drive Ottawa, ON K1M2K1 Canada Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from all communication.