{"id":89244,"date":"2025-08-22T17:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/89244\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T17:45:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:45:10","slug":"scientists-highlight-the-beauty-of-survival-in-wildlife-photo-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/89244\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists Highlight the Beauty of Survival in Wildlife Photo Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sparring<\/p>\n

Sparring saigas on the steppe by Andrey Giljov. Overall Winner.<\/p>\n

Researchers from around the world entered their best imagery into the BMC Ecology and Evolution\u00a0and\u00a0BMC Zoology<\/a> image competition. These scientific images are not only aesthetically pleasing; they also show the ways in which wildlife fights to survive. From clever camouflage to battling for resources, these images show both the beauty and struggle of life on Earth.<\/p>\n

With his beautifully framed photo of two saigas engaged in battle, Andrey Giljov won the competition. Giljov, who is a a senior lecturer at Saint Petersburg State University, took the image from a camoflauged hide deep in Central Asia\u2019s steppes. Saigas, a type of antelope known for its oversized nose, are tough animals that defend large harems of females. While the battles can be vicious, Giljov was able to capture a quieter moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaiga fights in spring, outside of the tournament season, are quieter and more about training than determining status,\u201d he shares<\/a>. \u201cHowever, the males take every opportunity to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

His photograph, where the sandy colored saigas blend into their environment, is a fascinating look at the Eurasian animal\u2019s social behavior. And this was just one of many interesting images in the compeition, which also awarded winners in four categories: Collective and Social Behavior, Life in Motion, Research in Action, and Colorful Strategies.<\/p>\n

Particularly interesting is an image by Dr. Abhijeet Bayani, a biologist from the Indian Institute of Science. His photograph of a black and yellow beetle won the Colorful Strategies category. The photo is certainly beautiful, but it becomes all the more fascinating when Dr. Bayani recounts the story of its coloration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first found the beetle, it appeared to be just a drab-looking insect without any evident pattern,\u201d he recalls. \u201cBut as I began spending time photographing it from the front, the beetle seemed to perceive my camera lens as a predator. It suddenly turned jet black and bright yellow, developing black spots that created a bull-like face, out of nowhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scroll down to see even more winners from the contest and head over to BMC Ecology and Evolution<\/a> to read all of the stories behind the images.\n<\/p>\n

Researchers from around the world entered their best imagery into the joint 2025 BMC Ecology and Evolution\u00a0and\u00a0BMC Zoology competition.
\n\"Yellow<\/p>\n

Deimatic Beetle\u2019s Eye for an Eye by Abhijeet Bayani, Indian Institute of Science. Winner, Colorful Strategies<\/p>\n

\"Newly<\/p>\n

Nymphs and nature: A Close-Up Journey by Sritam Kumar Sethy. Winner, Collective and Social Behavior<\/p>\n

\"Breaching<\/p>\n

Jump! by Alwin Hardenbol. Runner-Up, Life in Motion<\/p>\n

\"Digital<\/p>\n

Pterosaurs in flight over the Jurassic Hebridean Basin by Natalia Jagielska. Winner, Life in Motion<\/p>\n

\"Male<\/p>\n

Radio-Tagging to study one of the UK\u2019s rarest beetles by Nick Royle, University of Exeter, UK. Winner, Research in Action<\/p>\n

The photos highlight the beauty and struggle of life looking to survive\u2014and thrive\u2014on Earth.
\n\"Asian<\/p>\n

Mastering the art of camouflage by Sritam Kumar Sethy. Runner-Up, Colorful Strategies<\/p>\n

\"Non-invasive<\/p>\n

Galliform Guard Duty by Jack Bamber. Runner-Up, Research in Action<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

The lookout by Alwin Hardenbol. Highly Commended, Collective and Social Behavior<\/p>\n

\"Birds<\/p>\n

Saving my catch in flight by Delip K. Das. Highly Commended, Collective and Social Behavior<\/p>\n

\"Jewelled<\/p>\n

Spot me if you can by Jonathan Goldenberg. Highly Commended, Colorful Strategies<\/p>\n

BMC Ecology and Evolution: Website<\/a>\u00a0
\nAll images via BMC Ecology and Evolution.
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\n15 Otherworldly Finalists of the 2025 Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest<\/a>
\nRare Red Sprites and Glowing Scorpions Win the 2025 Capture the Dark Photo Contest<\/a>
\nCute Bioluminescent Marsupial Is a Standout Finalist of Tasmania\u2019s Science Photography Prize<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sparring saigas on the steppe by Andrey Giljov. Overall Winner. Researchers from around the world entered their best…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2837,49,48,52786,40935,10000,66,52787,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-89244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-ecology-photography","12":"tag-photo-contest","13":"tag-photography","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-scientific-photography","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}