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25 images selected by people in the annual wildlife photography contest

25 images selected by people in the annual wildlife photography contest

In This Article, We See The Top 25 Images From The Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Contest, Which Were Chosen By The Public After Being Selected By The Judges Of The Contest.

The Wildlife Photography Competition is an internationally renowned competition that recognizes the work of all talented photographers, from professional to amateur. This international competition rewards and celebrates these gifted photographers.

After the judges’ announcement, the works selected in this competition are entrusted to the people’s judgment to vote for their chosen winner and express their opinion in the Natural History Museum competition.

The Natural History Museum of London holds an annual call for entries in a wildlife photography competition. In the wildlife photography contest all photographers worldwide are invited to participate in this contest and capture nature in one frame.

Submitted works are evaluated in two groups of youth and adults. The Adult Contest is open to photographers 18 and older, and the Youth Contest is open to photographers 17 and younger.

The theme of the call for the adult group in this competition is animals in their environment, animal portraits, amphibian and reptile behavior, bird behavior, invertebrate behavior, mammal behavior, plants and fungi, underwater life, animals and city life, creative landscapes, oceans, wetlands. , a news photo of nature (single shot), and a news photo of wildlife (story).

Also, the themes of the call for pictures of young people in this competition can cover any aspect of wildlife and the natural world, including wild plants or animals or their natural environment, and depict the good and bad interactions we have with nature.

Registration fees for this competition are £30-£35 for adults and free for juniors.

Prizes for the adult age group are a £10,000 cash prize and a certificate of participation if the winner is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The portfolio prize is £2,500, a certificate of participation in the competition, and a trip to London to attend the awards ceremony.

Also, the prize of this competition for photographers under 17 years of age is considered the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 1000 pounds, and a certificate of participation in the competition.

The Natural History Museum, in charge of holding this competition, announced in its press release that wildlife photography enthusiasts worldwide could choose their favorite image from among 25 images. Now, these images have been selected in the Natural History Museum’s final list from more than 49,000 images worldwide.

The Year of Wildlife Photo Contest aims to use photography to enrich life, inspire and inform, and strive to protect the planet better. The competition welcomes honest depictions of wildlife in support of wildlife and simple descriptions of nature that include respect for animals and the environment. The jury can award only 100 winners among the images sent to this contest.

The Natural History Museum has become a leading scientific research center worldwide.

It has the most visited natural history museum in Europe, with a vision of the future where people and the planet grow. This museum is the custodian of one of the most important scientific collections in the world, which includes more than 80 million specimens.

The scale of the collection enables researchers from around the world to document how ecosystems are changing, to help predict what might happen in the future, and to inform future policies and plans to help the planet.

(Click on the images to see them in full size)

The last goodbye

  • Photographer: Amy Vitale
  • Image location: Kenya

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

Joseph Wachira comforts Sudan, the last remaining male northern white rhino on the planet, moments before he dies. This rhino lived in the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Reserve north of Kenya. Sudan was a rhinoceros suffering from the effects of age and died surrounded by the people who cared for him. With each extinction, we come closer to losing ecosystem health. When we see ourselves as a part of nature, we realize that saving wildlife is saving ourselves. One can only hope that Sudan’s legacy and loss will act as a catalyst to awaken humanity to this reality.

Family portrait

  • Photographer: Andrew Lee
  • Image location: California

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

It was challenging to capture a family portrait of a mother, father, and eight chickens. They never came together as an ideal family of 10. Badger owls often have large families in Ontario, California. So, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Finally, after days of waiting and when the family’s father was not with them, the mother and her chicks suddenly stared at me with wide eyes. It was my first time seeing them together, and I quickly seized this precious moment. The badger owl is a small, long-legged owl found in the open landscapes of North and South America. These owls can be found in grasslands, pastures, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other dry, open area with little vegetation.

daydreaming

  • Photographer: Neil Anderson
  • Image location: unknown

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

As the weather got colder, two Eurasian red squirrels (only one of which is visible in the picture) found comfort and warmth in a box in a pine tree near my home in the Scottish Highlands. During the colder months, squirrels usually share nests, even if unrelated. Squirrels’ nests are usually made of twigs, dry leaves, and grass and are generally gathered in tall tree branches. They are sometimes called dark nests to distinguish them from squirrel burrow nests.

After discovering one of these nests, full of nesting materials and had been used many times, I installed the camera and LED light on this nest. There was a lot of natural light in this box, so I slowly increased the light to highlight my subjects. Then, I took photos of these subjects using the WiFi app on my phone.

Lion king

  • Photographer: Wim van den Hever
  • Picture location: Tanzania

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

As I watched this substantial male lion lying on top of a large granite rock, a cold wind swept across the vast open plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti. At that moment, it was as if a storm was approaching, and when the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the clouds, the lion raised his head and looked at me. He gave me a perfect picture of an ideal moment.

close encounter

  • Photographer: Guillermo Esteves
  • Image location: Wyoming

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

I was photographing reindeer on the side of the road at Antelope Flats in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park when the moose took an interest in a visiting dog sitting in the car. The car driver was unable to move the deer without forcing it. Fortunately, this reindeer lost his appeal after a few minutes and continued. The surprised expression on this dog’s face speaks well to humans and is a reminder that reindeer are large, unpredictable, and feral animals.

rabbit ball

  • Photographer: Andy Parkinson
  • Image location: Scotland

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

I spent five weeks watching hares near Tomatin in the Scottish Highlands, patiently waiting for their every move, stretch, yawn, and shake. They did one of these things every thirty to forty-five minutes. I waited, wholly frozen and prostrate, as the 50 to 60-mph wind whipped around me relentlessly. The cold started distracting me, my fingers froze on the metal camera body, and the lens started to burn. Suddenly, in those moments, this rabbit made itself spherical and became like a ball. So I hunted this picture.

Close the front door

  • Photographer: Sam Sloss
  • Picture location: Lembe Strait

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

An octopus walking around the black sands of Lembe Strait in Sulawesi was carrying its shell house. The remarkable thing about this picture is that this small octopus has built a protective shelter for himself using shells, coconut, and even glass bottles. These intelligent creatures show good taste when choosing the perfect tools for protection. They know that certain types and sizes of shells have their advantages, whether for shelter or to hide from predators. It’s easy to say that the coconut octopus is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. This type of octopus is found in the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean.

batwoman

  • Photographer: Douglas Games
  • Image location: Australia

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

Rescuer and wildlife watcher Julie Malherbe is working to help save other birds as she cares for three orphaned gray-headed bats. This type of bat, called megabat or flying foxes, are native birds of Australia and plays a vital role in seed dispersal and pollination of more than a hundred native species of flower and fruit trees in the southeastern forest areas. Unfortunately, this bat species is in danger of extinction due to the destruction of its foraging and nocturnal habitats and mass casualties due to heatstroke events.

A window to life

 

  • Photographer: Sergio Marijuana Campuzano
  • Image location: unknown

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

Two Iberian lynx kittens, Quijote and Queen, play in the abandoned feed barn where they were born. Being very curious and a little scared, they started to explore the outside world from the windows of their house. In recent years, the reintroduction of species to the eastern Sierra Morena of Spain has caused them to use some anthropogenic environments. Their mother, Adrina, was also born in Talise, and her mother, Mesta, stayed with her for a year before leaving her daughter in this safe and cozy place to provide for her family.

A special moment

  • Photographer: Oliver Richter
  • Image location: Germany

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

For many years I saw European water dogs near my home in Grimma, Saxony, Germany. This family portrait was recorded in the favorite place of these water dogs for feeding. This picture represents the care and love that adult and adult water dogs show to their young ones. I have also watched many years of landscape redesign to create valuable habitats for many wildlife species, including kingfishers and dragonflies.

Alpha

  • Photographer: Magnus Troll
  • Image location:

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

Of all the different primate species I’ve photographed, the mandrill, a giant, ugly, predatory hornbill, was the most difficult to access; Because he prefers to hide in the tropical forests in the remote areas of Central Africa. When a male becomes alpha, he will undergo physical changes associated with increased testosterone levels, which will lighten the colors of his muzzle. By closing this condition, the colors will also fade. I also used a flash to add vivid colors and textures against the dark forest background. It made the experience of sitting next to this impressive alpha as he looked up all the more special.

Lizard resting

  • Photographer: Gary Meredith
  • Image location: Western Australia

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

The Great Sand Desert in Western Australia is home to a wide variety of wildlife. The wildlife found in this environment must adapt to harsh and hostile living conditions. When there is an opportunity to rest, the long-nosed lizard uses human structures. In this picture, this lizard sits on a piece of wire outside the workshop, waiting for the sun’s rays. The artificial light source outside the building attracts butterflies and insects, Creatures that are easy prey for a hungry lizard.

 Nomas real garden

  • Photographer: Karine Aigner
  • Image location: Marco Island, Florida

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

A short distance from the Florida Everglades of the United States of America, Marco Island is the largest and only developed land in the Ten Thousand Islands of Florida. The Gulf Coast retreat has given rise to luxury resorts, beautiful beaches, multimillion-dollar neighborhoods, and, surprisingly, a thriving community of nesting owls. The owls in this picture dig their holes and are happy to find a perfect place to hunt insects and lizards in the perfectly manicured lawn. The owls of Marco Island are new neighbors, and the humans considered their friends are more than excited to have them around.

A child in the rocks

  • Photographer: Frederick Lari
  • Image location: Tibetan Plateau

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

When this 6-month-old snow leopard cub stopped following its mother and stopped copying her movements, it began to seek protection among the rocks. This was the second member of the snow leopard family that I met on the Tibetan Plateau in the autumn of 2017. Unlike other areas where illegal hunting is typical and ordinary, in this mountain range, these leopards have a chance to live; Because they are safe and free from the persecution of hunters.

coexistence

  • Photographer: Pallavi Prasad Law
  • Image location: India

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

Although the Asian Teddy Cat looks somewhat feline, it belongs mainly to the mink and mongoose family. This creature, also known as the teddy cat, is a carnivorous animal that currently faces many horrific cases of abuse by humans. In this picture, the Asian kitten blinks from inside a bag in a small and remote village in India, curiosity, and playfulness shining in its eyes. This child was an orphan and spent his short life in the village’s backyard. He is at ease with the locals, who embrace the live-and-keep-alive philosophy. I consider this image to be a hopeful image; Because, in other parts of the world, these creatures are not so lucky.

turtle time machine

  • Photographer: Thomas Peschak
  • Image location: Bahamas

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

During Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the Caribbean in 1494, it was said that green sea turtles were so numerous that his ships nearly sank. Today, this species of turtle are classified as an endangered species. However, green turtles can be easily seen in places like Little Farmer’s Cay in the Bahamas. In an ecotourism project carried out by fishermen, they use scaly waste to attract turtles to the pier, which some fishermen use to hunt turtles. Without a time machine, it is impossible to see the population of pristine turtles; However, I hope this image is just a spark to delve deeper into the bounty of our seas.

Border shelter

  • Photographer: Joseph Dominic Anthony
  • Picture location: Hong Kong

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

I got the idea for this photo in 2016 while visiting Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong. The local access rules adopted in the closed-off area on the Chinese border mean years of studying tide tables and waiting for the right weather. I wanted to convey the story and mood of Mai Po Nature Reserve in a balanced photo. A picture that combines the behavior of multiple species in the context of their wider environment and is particularly useful for juxtaposing permanent urban development.

An eye for an eye

  • Photographer: Andrey Shepatak
  • Picture location: Japan

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

The image of this Japanese warrant fish was recorded north of Aprichenic Bay in the seas of Japan. Warbent is a slender, elongated fish from the North Pacific Ocean with branching tentacles above its eyes, behind its head, and in front of its long dorsal fin. These unusual fish have adopted a local lifestyle among the rocks and stones of shallow coastal waters. They use their sharp-edged jaws to break and eat sea cucumbers and gastropods. At one time, it was thought they were timid and almost impossible to observe. Still, curiosity got the better of them, and they now often swim up to divers, too, surprising them with their extraordinary appearance.

 Spirit of Bhutan

  • Photographer: Emmanuel Rudo
  • Image location: England

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

For more than 50 years, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has set its goal to preserve the environment and wildlife and strive to create harmony between humans and the environment since the well-being of people, nature, and the environment are linked to each other like a chain, moving in the direction of improving conditions requires using an integrated and comprehensive approach. On assignment with WWF England, my brief and desire were to photograph the elusive wildlife of the mountains of Bhutan.

WWF has designed and implemented various projects and plans around the world according to the specific conditions of each region. The goals and activities of the World Wildlife Fund include the protection of forests, preservation of oceans and marine life, safe water for humans and nature, protection of various animal species, accessible food for the whole world, and a world without carbon and pollution.

These projects are innovative, collaborative, and based on evidence and scientific principles. According to the results, they have improved a wide range of global regions regarding environmental characteristics and quality of human life. While photographing wildlife in the mountains of Bhutan, I was surprised to find rhododendrons at an altitude of 3,500 meters, setting up a camera trap.

I was hopeful, although I wasn’t confident that I could achieve anything. The large mammals in that area used a very narrow forest path near that place. Weeks later, I was surprised to capture a picture of a single (cattle or wildebeest), with the colors of the blue sky and pink flowers in the background.

lifesaver

  • Photographer: Sergio Maria Juan Campuzano
  • Image location: Spain

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

With the growth of urban areas such as Jaén in Spain, threats to wildlife have increased, and Iberian lynxes are among the victims of this issue due to the encroachment of their territories. In 2019, more than 34 lynxes were injured, and three days before I took this image, a two-year-old female cat died not far from this spot. Two proven solutions to road deaths are improving fence jumping and building tunnels underground. These solutions are critical to conserving many other species, including lynxes.

fire

  • Photographer: Robert Irwin
  • Photo location: Cape York, Queensland, Australia

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

A line of fire has blazed through the woods near the border of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in the area. An area whose protection is of great importance, in which more than 30 different ecosystems are found and houses many endangered species, has suffered an irreparable fire. Fires are one of the biggest threats to these precious habitats. Although natural fires, or managed burns, can be significant in an ecosystem, when these fires are lit deliberately and without regard to the conditions, often to drive out feral pigs for hunting, they can get out of control and allow the destruction of large areas. . Huge areas whose reconstruction and growth will not be possible again.

license to kill

  • Photographer: Brita Jaschinski
  • Image location: United States of America

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

My images of animal trafficking cases and the various body parts seized at airports and borders worldwide attempt to understand why some people continue to demand products that need to be made from animals and wildlife. Although they are undoubtedly aware, this causes the suffering of many animals and, in some cases, will push the species to the brink of extinction. In this image, the head of a zebra was seized at a border point in the United States of America. The hunter likely could not prove that the zebra was killed with a permit.

In this picture, I considered using an electric cart to transport the confiscated goods ironic, and I tried to raise the question, is this creature a part of the wildlife or just a commodity for exchange?

white danger

Photographer: Petri Pitilinin

Image location: Norway

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

I was hoping to see polar bears when I was on a photography trip to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. When I spotted one in the distance on the glacier, I jumped from the main ship to a smaller dinghy to get a closer look. The bear was trying to reach a cliff and birds nesting there. This white bear tried several routes to reach the birds and failed; However, he got the bird’s nest due to his persistence and probably hunger. When the adults and some of the chicks jumped off the cliff in panic, the bear had a chance to feed on what was left.

Draw and quarter

Photographer: Laurent Ballesta

Picture location: France

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

Fakarava Atoll sharks in French Polynesia hunt in packs but don’t like sharing their prey. In this picture, scraps of grouper meat fall out of the jaws of two gray reef sharks; Because the sharks are trying to get each fish. Do not divide A lone shark is too clumsy, So it can’t even catch a sleepy grouper. After hunting the grouper together, the sharks surround it but then compete with each other to have the food all to themselves. In the end, only a few sharks have a share of the catch, and most are left without food for several nights.

Backstage at the circus

  • Photographer: Kirsten Loos
  • Picture location: Saint Petersburg

The photographer says in the explanation of this picture:

At the St. Petersburg State Circus, bear trainer Grant Ibragimov performs his daily routine with three Siberian brown bears. These animals train every day and then have to perform under the light.

To train a bear to walk on two legs, I found them chained to a wall by the neck from a young age to strengthen the leg muscles. Russia and Eastern Europe have a long history of training bear to dance or perform, and hundreds of bears continue to do so as part of the circus industry in this part of the world.

Humans always use all the elements around them to entertain themselves and those around them, and in the meantime, animals and wildlife are not spared from the sting of human access.

Many animals are part of entertainment in the form of circus, and in this way, they are subjected to a lot of oppression. Some of these cruelties to animals in circuses include pulling teeth, cutting claws (nails), dressing them, and forcing them to jump through rings of fire or walk on a ball.

What is your opinion about this?