The award categories range from Animal Behavior, Animal Portraits and Conservation Focus to Creative Nature Photography and Wild Landscape and Animals in the Wild.
This year’s winners of the NatureinFocus Photography Awards They were unveiled at the Nature inFocus Festival, held at the Jayamahal Palace in Bangalore (India).
From the poignant portrait of a bonobo tending to a mongoose calf to the fierce battle for mating rights between male Nubian ibex in Israel’s Zin Desert, these images capture unique moments in natural history and address questions crucial to the conservation.
Winners were selected from a total of 24,000 photos submitted by 1,500 photographers from around the world.
Below is an impressive collection of some of the winning and highly recommended images from the contest.
Animal Behavior Winner: Shell I Eat You? (Am I going to eat you? by Sankhesh Dedhia
This stunning action image captures a rarely seen moment in natural history as the legendary Ranthambhore tiger fishes up a soft-shelled turtle from the lake to eat. The diet of a tiger in the wild can be very varied, since the cat can feed on almost everything it finds in its territory, even a turtle, and it shows!
Winner of Animal Behavior: A love like no other, by Afroj Sheikh
Caught in the crosshairs of a hungry leopard, the vulnerable mother langur and her cub had little chance of survival. The hunt and chase had driven predator and prey up a tree before the mother succumbed to the big cat’s choking grip. The mother was able to save the calf from her.
Animal Behavior Winner: A Sappy Alliance, by Avinash PC
Symbiotic relationships abound in nature. But none as sappy and sugary as the mutualistic relationship between ants and aphids. Aphids are small sap-sucking insects that are a serious pest to plants. They secrete a sugar-rich liquid called molasses, the ants’ favorite food. So much so that the ants protect these insects from other predators and even drive them to the healthiest parts of the plant to maintain a constant flow of sweet honeydew.
Conservation Focus Winner: Cry Me a River by Hiren Pagi
From time to time, news sites report that a dead crocodile has been found in the Vishwamitri River, a fleeting acknowledgment of the 270 “mugger” (Hindi for aquatic monster crocodiles). The image shows the conditions in which these Reptiles coexist with humans. The river has become a dumping ground for nearby settlements, and in several places, drainage water also finds its way into the mix. Crocodiles that come near the river face many threats, such as habitat loss and water pollution.
Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat Winner: The Things You Do for Love, by Amit Eshel
It looks like the set for the next Mission Impossible, but for Nubian ibexes, high-altitude rocky terrain is home. This vulnerable species of ibex is known for many things: its large semicircular horns, its ability to climb mountains with ease, and the territorial fights that males wage during the mating season. Demonstrations of dominance begin by showing off their impressive horns. If that’s not enough, they escalate by pushing the opponent and literally shutting their horns. Ibexes also rear up on their hind legs when preparing to attack.
Winner of Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat: Worlds Apart, by Dileep SS
Think of Dubai and the first thing that comes to mind are architectural wonders that make heaven seem close at hand. Tall buildings may be Dubai’s visual trademark, but alongside the glare lies another world, where wildlife thrives in the desert. The image juxtaposes these two worlds – the towering skyscrapers and the endless sands – to remind us to look beyond the concrete.
Winner of Creative Nature Photography: All That Glitters Are Spores, by Anirban Dutta
The bristles are the brightly colored guard hairs of the slug moth larvae. The glowing effect is due to the fungi releasing spores. When the photographer found the larvae right next to the spore-dropping mushrooms, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to capture the dramatic framing, and dramatic it is!
Winner of Creative Nature Photography: Symmetry in Mimicry by Arkaprava Ghosh
They say mimicry is the best form of flattery. But in the animal world, it is one of the best defense mechanisms. Here, woodland dragonflies are aptly positioned atop the perennial vine Phanera vahlii to resemble an inflorescence. Notice how the dragonflies lift their abdomens in unison? Fooling a predator has never been so complicated.
ADVERTISINGAnimal Portraits Winner: The Bonobo and His Pet by Christian Ziegler
The last described great ape, the bonobo, is one of our closest living relatives. Here, a wild bonobo that captured a baby mongoose cares for it like a pet. He later released the animal unharmed. This behavior has only been recorded once before by Professor Barbara Fruth at this location.
Animal Portraits Winner: Inspecting Booby by Suliman Alatiqi
Brown boobies spend much of their lives in the open sea. Their clumsiness on land earned them their name, derived from the Spanish word bobo. They are excellent foragers at sea, diving to feed on everything from anchovies and sardines to squid and shrimp. The photographer watched this individual dip its head underwater at short intervals and positioned itself to capture a close-up of the bird from the perspective of its intended prey.
Young Photographer Award Winner: Hive Raiders by Pranav Mahendru
In the dense forests of Satpura, a pair of eastern honey vultures raid a hive. These raptors forage for food in hives and wasp nests but, contrary to what their name suggests, they prefer bee and wasp larvae to honey.
Young Photographer Award Winner: Lean in the Night by Arnav Deshpande
Like the spiders they are often confused with, harvestmen also have eight legs, most of which are long and slender in contrast to their body. They are living fossils, the original “daddy long legs,” that have remained unchanged for millions of years. On a rainy night, the young photographer saw this harvestman sheltering in a crevice, with raindrops shining on its limbs.
Special Mention for Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat: The Land of the Rays, by Amit Vyas
If the essence of Ranthambore could be captured in one frame, this would be it. Only once in a blue moon does the landscape get so misty in Ranthambore. And when a tiger chooses the right moment to show up, it almost seems too good to be true. The historical architecture of the landscape, its species and the cerulean background create an image that carries magic written everywhere.
ADVERTISINGSpecial Mention for Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat: The Weirdest of All by Sergey Gorshkov
The Amur leopard, one of the rarest cats in the world, certainly makes one earn its sighting. This endangered feline faces several threats, including poaching for its fur. Although suitable habitats exist throughout Russia and China, these leopards are threatened by a shortage of prey animals.
Special Mention for Animal Behavior: It’s a Cat-eat-cat World by Karthik Mohan Iyer
It takes a moment to say, “Wow!” Although tigers and leopards share the same prey, they don’t usually fight each other and keep their distance from each other. But when threatened by competition, tigers may remove other predators from their territory, such as leopards.
Special Mention Animal Behavior: The lights will guide you home, by Merche Llobera
A pod of spinner dolphins plunge into the beautifully lit waters of the Pacific Ocean, creating this stunning scene of a cetacean avalanche. One of the dolphins can be seen looking into the camera lens, adding a touch of curiosity and connection to the frame.
Young Photographer Special Mention: Gecko’s Garage by Vidyun Hebbar
The Andaman day gecko or emerald green gecko is a brightly colored gecko endemic to the Andaman Islands. The young photographer was on vacation when he saw this shy creature lurking inside a blind.
