In a bid to acknowledge the role of wildlife photography in conservation during National Wildlife Week 2017, and to celebrate the Asian elephant, India’s National Heritage Animal, Wildlife Trust of India, in collaboration with Conservation Lenses and Wildlife (CLaW), had held the #GajYatra Photography Competition.
Now, we’re happy to announce the winners!
CATEGORY A: AESTHETIC | CATEGORY B: CONSERVATION STORY | PRIZES
1st Place: Mousam Ray, ‘Masti Mood’
Photographer’s description: “Asiatic Elephant taking a floral bouquet for his girlfriend!”
2nd Place: Rajesh Muthukrishnan, ‘The Splasher’
Photographer’s description: “An Asiatic male elephant in musth is the most powerful animal on earth. As loners, male elephants travel far and wide in search of suitable females in heat to mate. Their movement within the contiguous forest is absolutely necessary, in search of food and for herds of other elephants to find a suitable female. Unfortunately man-made hindrances on their path might have serious consequences. Tuskers like these have been roaming these jungles for centuries and only they have the right of way.”
3rd Place: Prakahar Krishnan, ‘Toss and Spin’
Photographer’s description: “The frame was captured when a group of elephants after having some serious talks and exchange with a tiger came out and started having a bath and drinks. This young elephant came out of the bath and started to toss mud in and around himself to dry himself out and get rid of the bugs sticking to him.”
CATEGORY B: CONSERVATION STORY
1st Place: Debashish Nandi, ‘Ethics or Aesthetics?’
Photographer’s description: “Thronged by a mob, the forest department and NGOs were working together to help the little elephant calf! This is the ethics of letting wild be wild and the aesthetic of working towards wild together with people, respective NGOs, forest departments.”
2nd Place: Kunal Chakraborty, ‘The Death Trap’
Photographer’s description: “I clicked this photo during March 2015 one morning, as we were on our way to Buxa hills for a photo tour. On the way we heard a small herd were roaming near the railway track near Rajabhatkhawa station. We went there and spotted the herd. Suddenly a train came on the track and we stopped it by waving our T-shirts from a distance. The small herd quickly crossed the track safely. In this route to Siliguri from Alipurduar, many elephants have died due to fast running trains. It is a big threat to not only elephants but many other mammals and reptiles too.”
3rd Place: Manish Gadia, ‘Fired Future’
Photographer’s description: “Composting is the right way to dispose of dried leaves, not burning them. With plastic or other garbage it would be best to give it to informed tourist vehicles to ensure it gets sent outside the park. Here in this image I have tried to capture the fire and mammals of the park to give a perspective of the damage such fires can cause, since they may spiral into an uncontrolled fire. In the backdrop there is the IUCN endangered species – the Asian Elephant.”
:: Category A & B winners
1st Place: Signed copy of Vivek Menon’s Indian Mammals: A Field Guide + a Gaj Yatra T-shirt + a Gaj Yatra mug + an invitation to attend our Delhi Jumbo Mahotsav in August 2018, where they will be honoured for their contribution (2nd AC train fare will be paid to and from Delhi for the winner + one)
2nd place: Signed copy of Vivek Menon’s Indian Mammals: A Field Guide + a Gaj Yatra T-shirt + a Gaj Yatra mug + an invitation to attend one of our State Mahotsavs where they will be honoured for their contribution (3rd AC train fare will be paid to and from the event destination for the winner + one)
3rd place: Signed copy of Vivek Menon’s Indian Mammals: A Field Guide + a Gaj Yatra T-shirt + a Gaj Yatra mug
:: People’s Choice winner
Signed copy of Vivek Menon’s Indian Mammals: A Field Guide + a Gaj Yatra t-shirt + a Gaj Yatra mug
Congratulations to all the winners! Wildlife Trust of India will be getting in touch with you shortly to facilitate the prizes!
