Swarm of tadpoles, trio of lynx net B.C. photographers top honours at Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards | CBC News

A photo of a swarm of western toad tadpoles swimming in the waters of Vancouver Island has netted a Canadian photographer a prestigious international award.

Shane Gross’s The Swarm of Life has been named the Adult Grand Title Winner in the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards by the U.K.’s Natural History Museum.

Gross, who was born and raised in Regina and has since called the Bahamas and Vancouver Island home, is one of two Canadians to be honoured, alongside John E. Marriott of Canmore, Alta., whose photo of a family lynx in the Yukon was crowned the winner in the “Animal Portraits” category.

The photos were selected out of 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories, the museum said in a statement.

CBC News has reached out to Gross and Marriott.

Gross’s photograph was captured while he was snorkelling through carpets of lily pads in Cedar 
Lake on Vancouver Island, the museum said.

It shows dozens of western toad tadpoles, a species that has been threatened by development.

“The jury was captivated by the mix of light, energy and connectivity between the environment and the tadpoles,” said jury chair Kathy Moran in a news release.

Gross’s biography describes him as a “marine conservation photojournalist” who has documented water life worldwide. He was featured in a 2020 CBC News documentary titled “Shane Gross: Capturing humanity’s impact on ocean life.”

WATCH | A documentary of Gross’s work: 

Shane Gross: Capturing humanity’s impact on ocean life

Canadian wildlife conservation photographer Shane Gross has won awards for capturing ocean life and humanity’s impact on it. He tells The National’s co-host Andrew Chang about his mission to create emotional connections with his photographs that will hopefully lead to lasting change.
Host/Reporter: Andrew Chang
Producer: Sean Brocklehurst
Camera/Editor: Jared Thomas 

Competition judge Tony Wu said in a statement that Gross’s photo “immerses us in an epic migration of tiny tadpoles, a scene that most of us would have never imagined existed. By putting us in the midst of this movement of millions, they highlight the fact that beauty and magic exist everywhere, even in the most mundane of settings.”

In details about Marriott’s photo, the museum says the photographer had been tracking the lynx for nearly a week by snowshoe, keeping his distance so as not to spook them. It also highlights the threat to wildlife, noting climate change has reduced the prey available to lynx.

Marriott attracted national attention in 2020 when he captured a showdown between two grizzlies, known as the Boss and Split Lip, fighting in Banff National Park.

WATCH |  Marriott’s capture of a grizzly bear showdown: 

A battle between Banff’s biggest, baddest bears

It’s a wildlife photographer’s dream to see a showdown between two of Banff’s most notorious grizzlies (from a safe distance, of course!).

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year award was founded in 1965.