Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – One image of polar bears wandering around an abandoned house and another showing the last moments in the life of a beloved mountain gorilla have become among the winning images of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year this year.
American Karen Aigner won the contest in 2022, thanks to her photo, entitled “The big buzz”.
The extraordinary scene shows a group of cactus bees intending to mate with a single female, against a backdrop of scorching sand on a Texas farm.
Speaking about the photo, jury president Rose Kidman Cox said in a press release released Tuesday: “The sense of movement and vitality is demonstrated from a corner close to the bee floor.”
The foreground makes this young bee a great contender for a single female, according to what I said.
The statement added that Aigner’s foreground shows the desperation of these degraded organisms, which are threatened by climate change, pesticides and habitat loss.
Organizers said Aigner was the fifth woman to win first prize in the competition’s 58-year history.
Natural History Museum Director Doug Goure commended the photographers for providing “unforgettable glimpses of wildlife life, sharing hidden details and surprising behaviors, and reporting on climate crises and biodiversity at the forefront.”
The winners were chosen in 19 different categories, including 3 awards for the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Sixteen-year-old Thai Kattanyu and Techhattanakorn took home the first prize in this category thanks to a photo of a Breedy whale with its dark skin, pink gums and rough sheets of baleen.
The photo is called “The beauty of baleen”.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition was developed and developed by the Natural History Museum in London and the images will be presented to the public during the month of October.
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