Well I voted this a 5 and no, not cause of some shock value wich I am sure some prissies will complain about or not cause it´s "disgusting", I have seen far worse and couldn´t care less. I just don´t think this photo is well, more than a snapshot and neither good nor bad. Since this challenge was titled harsh environments I would rather have taken a shot really down low by the animal (racoon? not sure what it is) and maybe shot it with a long exposure showing cars whizzing by to make it much more interesting. Shot from above like this just gives me that snapshot feeling I was talking about earlier.
I’ll bet this one is taking a beating. I believe photography is not always warm and fuzzy. A lot of people would disagree with me, but I give this picture a 8 for impact.
Well...? Hmmmm...? Expert editing used???? Anyway, I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not voting in this challenge - I rarely vote in challenges I participate in. If I were voting, I'd give your photo a 9.5 and since that is impossible, I'd bump it up to 10. Even though the photo is sad...it hits the challenge right on the head. Sorry, no pun intended. I'll say a few words for that critter before I leave...........................................................................................................ok, good luck and have a good one. Take care...