Rare Bear wins Alberta photographer an international award

Jacquie Matechuk​ won Nature Photographer of the Year 2023 for this stunning shot of a rare Spectacled Bear perched in a fig tree in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador. She titled the photograph “He Looks to the Heavens.”

Matechuk, a professional photographer based in Cochrane, hiked with a guide for 11 days at roughly 8,000 feet above sea level, to observe the vulnerable species. The prestigious award is given by Nature Talks, a Netherlands-based photography agency. See her personal story of the trek to find the bear here.