Sleeping raccoon wins May’s Preserve the Moment photo contest

Will County — A Shorewood man’s photo of a sleeping raccoon nestled in the crook of a tree won May’s portion of the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Preserve the Moment photo contest. The photo was taken by Joe Viola of Shorewood at Hammel Woods preserve.

Forest Preserve judges narrowed the field of entries down to five, and Viola’s raccoon received the most votes on the District’s Facebook page.

Viola says that he is glad that other people enjoyed his photo and that he first saw the raccoon, who he affectionately calls “Rocky,” last fall. He says he spends a lot of his time in the Will County forest preserves near his home and enjoys submitting photos to the Forest Preserve and seeing the shots that fellow photographers take.

One monthly winner will be chosen for each month from May through December. Monthly winning photos will be chosen via Facebook voting after Forest Preserve judges narrow down each months’ entries to five finalists. Overall contest winners will receive Visa gift cards of $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $150 for third place. All prizes are funded by The Nature Foundation of Will County.

Participants must be 18 or older, amateur photographers and the photos must have been taken in the Forest Preserve District’s preserves after the contest began on May 1. To enter the contest, upload five photos for consideration at the conclusion of each month. Please read all contest rules and photo upload instructions before entering the contest.