British Mammal Society photo competition

The maker of this photo wrote:

Surfing seal – This surfing seal was taken at Godrevy on the north coast of Cornwall. It shows interesting behaviour that I have never seen before. I preempted this was going to happen as it was showing signs of being playful, so I stayed even longer to see if it would do what I was hoping it would do.

From Wildlife Extra:

Mammal Society photographic competition challenges public misconceptions

February 2013. Capturing ‘extraordinary’ behaviour of Britain’s mammals was just one of the criteria the judges were looking for when examining entries to The Mammal Society Mammal Photographer of the Year competition.

Marina Pacheco is The Mammal Society’s chief executive. Commenting on the high standard of the competition entries, she said: “Compared with birds or even insects, mammals can be difficult to see, let alone photograph.

So, we knew that inviting photographers to capture mammals’ unusual behaviour was going to be a tall order. However, we were thrilled by the 370 submissions. Our entrants have not only captured the essence of British mammals, but from deer to dolphins and red deer to rats, they’ve also captured the sheer diversity too.”

Rat winner

Often feared and shunned, brown rats are perhaps an unlikely photographic model. However, Roy Rimmer, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, defied public misconceptions and used technical excellence to freeze the motion of a jumping rat. Wildlife photographer Kate MacRae was one of the judges. She said: “This image quite literally ‘leapt’ out at me when I first saw it. Often misunderstood and unfairly depicted, I loved the unique energy in this capture.”

From the Mammal Society site:

In 2012-2013 we ran the first Mammal Photographer of the Year competition for amateur photographers. Judges, including Kate MacRae, AKA “Wildlife Kate”, and photographer Steve Magennis are looking for images that tell a story, show rare behaviour, highlight mammals in a fragile environment, or make the ordinary extraordinary. The aim was to bring mammals into public focus, raising awareness of the issues they face, and hopefully encouraging us to appreciate the species that are often overlooked but essential to the health of our habitats.

Judge Kate MacRae has created an online gallery of all 2013 winners and finalists here: http://wildlifekate.moonfruit.com/#/mammal-society-results/4573736283

The Mammal Society’s full shortlist of 199 images can be viewed here, as well as the 16 winners and finalists.

In pictures: Mammal photo winners: here.

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