A ghostly shot of a uncommon hyena visiting the skeletal stays of a long-abandoned diamond mining city in Kolmanskop, Namibia, has gained one of the best picture on this yr’s Wildlife Photographer of the Yr award.
The annual competitors, run by London’s Pure Historical past Museum, obtained a record-breaking 60,636 entries from 113 nations and territories this yr. Winners have been introduced this week, with South African photographer Wim van den Heever claiming the highest prize.
“How becoming that this {photograph} was made in a ghost city,” mentioned Kathy Moran, chair of the judging panel. “You get a prickly feeling simply taking a look at this picture and you understand that you simply’re on this hyena’s realm.”
She added: “I additionally love the twist on this interpretation of ‘city’ – it was as soon as however is not a human-dominated surroundings. Deserted by miners, wildlife has taken over. Repopulated, if you’ll. Is it nonetheless a city – it might appear that option to me – simply not ours.”
“This image is a multi-layered story of loss, resilience and the pure world’s silent triumph, making it an unforgettable piece of wildlife and conservation images,” mentioned Akanksha Sood Singh, jury member for the competitors.
Now in its sixty-first yr, the competitors continues to be a ‘highly effective platform for visible storytelling, exhibiting the range, magnificence and complexity of the pure world and humanity’s relationship to it’.
“With the inclusion of our Biodiversity Intactness Index, this yr’s exhibition will probably be our greatest mixture of nice artistry and groundbreaking science but, serving to guests to grow to be impressed to be advocates for our planet,” mentioned Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Pure Historical past Museum.
An exhibition of the successful photographs launches on Friday seventeenth October on the Pure Historical past Museum. Extra data will be discovered right here.
