Award of Excellence Paul Nicken National Geographic Magazine
"Svalbard Norway-The High Arctic at Risk"
Award of Excellence Brian Skerry National Geographic Magazine
"Eye Of The Whale"
Award of Excellence Brian Skerry National Geographic Magazine
"First Encounter"
First Place Ronald W. Erdrich The Abilene Reporter-News
"migrant butterfly"
Butterflies like this male Queen (Danaus gilippus) are a popular sight at the Abilene Zoo's Butterfly Garden as they and their cousin the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) migrate through Texas on their way to Mexico each autumn. Queens are indigenous to most of the southern tier of the United States, as well as Central America. They don't travel quite as far as the Monarch, which is known to live as far north as Alaska but sometimes migrates thousands of miles to warmer climes in order to survive winter. Unlike the Monarch, Queens have been known to live through the winter and mate in the springtime.
