Photo Contest Submissions

Animals

• 

  How many baby quail can fit inside a teacup? After hatching this little crew, I decided it was time to find out. (Andrew Stillman)

• 

  A female Polyphemus moth spreads its wings for the first time after emerging from a silky cocoon - a spectacular addition to our native fauna! (Andrew Stillman)

• 

  I'll let you in on a little secret: young tree frogs often ride stag beetles into battle against their sworn enemies, the orb weaver spiders. The beetle will use its jaws to rip apart the web, while the frog attempts to either eat the spider, or knock it off the web. This is completely true and the photo was totally not staged at all. (Brigette Zacharczenko)

Plants

• 

  Pretty in pink: Protea punctata in Swartberg Pass. So wet. (Nora Mitchell)

• 

  The "curly whirlies" of South Africa are known to induce a dream-like state (Dustin Ray)

Environment

• 

  Sometimes, somber weather coaxes a dramatic twist into even the most famous landscape sentinels. After climbing Yosemite Falls in the pouring rain, this climatic view was well worth it. (Andrew Stillman)

• 

  Torres del Paine National Park. In 2012 a fire of more than 40.000 acres was started by an irresponsible tourist. These days, we can still see the consequences and forests composed by slow growing trees, some of them maturing after 200 years!!! (Pancho Concha)