Wildlife Direct has launched its second season of the Wildlife Warriors Nature’s Treasures Photo Competition.

The competition will see nature lovers, amateur and professional photographers from across East Africa; Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, go head-to-head to see who can take the best photographs of nature’s treasures.

It will run for 12 weeks from August 1 as an incentive for East Africans to go outdoors, observe, document and share their love for nature. Every two weeks will have a different theme; a total of six themes throughout the season.

This will allow amateur photographers to test their skills and capture nature’s resources from their homes, garden, national parks and game reserves near them.

Season 2 themes include Wildlife Portraits, Wild Landscapes, Fins, Feathers and Flowers, Funny and Cute Wildlife, Humans helping Nature, and Dramatic Wildlife.

Season 1, which was launched on March 17 saw 12 winners from Kenya win prizes for different weekly themes including Nature in Distress, Beauty of Diversity, Under the surface, In the sky, Nocturnal Beings, Healthy Habitats.

Bizarre beauties

Others were: Nature in the Backyard/city, A Closer Look at Nature, Humans helping nature, Non-mammal Portraits, Bizarre Beauties and Our Wildlife Our Pride.

A total of 1,051 incredible photos were submitted from 246 different photographers in Kenya.

The initiative by Wildlife Direct is a powerful way of connecting humans from all walks of life to nature so they can treasure it and act to conserve it and was preceded by the Wildlife Warriors documentary series that aired on a local TV station.

This second season will see Wildlife Direct partner with Conservation Through Public Health, Gorilla Conservation Coffee in Uganda and Tony Wild in Kenya.

“With all that has happened this year, we felt that this was an opportune moment to educate people about how zoonoses are caused and why protecting nature is the key to preventing any further disease outbreaks,” Trish Sewe, head of communications at Wildlife Direct told The EastAfrican.

“We also wanted to actively engage people and especially children who were now at home in conservation by exploring their environment through pictures,” Ms Sewe added.

Cash prizes

Judges to oversee the competition's Season 2 are Usha Harish (wildlife photographer and a safari planner based in Kenya), Callie Broadus (wildlife photographer and conservationist based in Washington DC) and Ananth Krishnamurthy (an amateur photographer with a passion for wildlife and conservation, based in the US).

Cash prizes will be awarded according to the categories; professional, amateur and junior for young people 15 and below.

Entrants can submit up to three photos and are encouraged to not only use their digital cameras but also mobile phones.

The competition closes on October 23, with winners picked for the different themes announced after every two weeks ending on October 27, 2020.