Food Chain: Photo Series Reveals The Brutality Of The Animal Kingdom

Catherine Chalmers' graphic and uncompromising “Food Chain” photo series offers a glimpse of the brutal kill-or-be-killed natural world – one that many artists and photographers like to ignore when dealing with nature and wildlife. Warning – some of our readers may find these images to be disturbing.

“The project grew out of a desire to be more engaged with the natural world,” Chalmers explained in an interview with Vice. “Over time, I became fascinated by the strange disconnect between what people seem to want to believe happens in nature and what actually does.”

Some of the more controversial photos, not featured here (but published in her book, which is available on Amazon), involved mice being eaten by snakes; “I’m not killing anything. I’m only raising one thing to sustain another,” said Chalmers. “Either the mouse dies, or the snake dies of starvation. There is no way around that. The mouse wants to live, the snake wants to eat, and we come along with a third, highly subjective judgment, which often slants these days toward rooting for the underdog. Why should we go by our opinion?”

More info: catherinechalmers.com | Amazon (h/t: Vice, libussa3) Chalmers' controversial book can be found on Amazon.