Wildlife Photographer of the Year – People’s Choice 2023
A shortlist of 25 images has been selected for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award.
Vote for your favorite image online, with the winner announced on 7 February 2024.
The 25 images are currently on display at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London.
So, here are 12 that I selected for you.
Let’s go!
1. Ice Bed - the Polar Bear
In Norway's Svalbard, a polar bear was spotted taking a nap on melting ice.
Photographer Nima Sarikhani captured this moment after an extensive three-day search for polar bears in thick fog.
After observing two male polar bears for eight hours, one of them climbed onto a small iceberg and carved out a bed using its strong paws before drifting off to sleep.
Witnessing such a rare sight of a polar bear in its natural habitat is truly remarkable.
2. Starling Murmuration
A group of starlings creates stunning shapes in the sky over Rome, Italy.
Photographer Daniel Dencescu was captivated by their mesmerizing movements as they formed colossal organic patterns.
Every day, as the starlings returned from foraging, they gathered in large numbers for spellbinding aerial shows called murmurations on their way back to their communal roosts.
To capture this amazing show, Daniel spent hours tracking the starlings around Rome.
Finally, on a clear winter day, the flock swirled into the shape of a giant bird.
3. Looking At Me, Looking At You
A grizzly bear in the Chilko River, British Columbia, Canada.
Photographer John E. Marriott was guiding a grizzly bear photography tour when they encountered this bear fishing for salmon.
The bear stood on its hind legs, perhaps to get a better view of the fish in the shallow water.
At that moment, it briefly looked at the boat with a curious expression before going back to its salmon-catching mission.
4. Tough Negotiation
A red fox cub spots a shrew in the Judean foothills, Israel.
Photographer Ayala Fishaimer drove for an hour to reach the red fox den, parked at a safe distance and patiently waited.
Soon, four fox cubs emerged and began playing.
This particular cub, however, became more interested in a shrew in the sand.
It started playing with the shrew like a ball, tossing it into the air.
At that moment, Ayala captured the gaze between the unsuspecting shrew and the curious fox cub.
5. Fashion Victims
Coats made from endangered big cats' skins, like snow leopards and jaguars, were confiscated and displayed in Hamburg.
These coats, seized by customs across Europe, underwent forensic tests to prevent them from returning to the black market.
Photographer Britta Jaschinski learned that, on average, 12 animals are used for one fur coat in the industry.
Attempting to count how many cats were killed for these coats during a photoshoot, she and a biologist stopped due to the shocking numbers.
6. Rubbish Drinks
A Celebes crested macaque explores a pile of plastic bottles on a beach near Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve in Indonesia.
Rangers had collected the bottles for recycling, most of which had washed up from the sea.
The macaque, familiar with the bottles containing liquids, is known to chew off the caps to access the contents.
It has learned to identify colored bottles that often contain sweet liquids, sometimes carrying them into the forest, causing challenges for the rangers' conservation efforts.
Photographer: Claire Waring
7. Shared Parenting
A lion cub receives plenty of affection in Maasai Mara, Kenya.
In the early morning hours, photographer Mark Boyd observed two lionesses grooming one of the pride's five cubs.
Female lions raise each other's cubs, sharing parenting responsibilities.
The cub seemed to relish the affection and attention during this moment.
The lionesses had hidden the cubs in a dense bush the previous evening as they went hunting.
Upon returning from an unsuccessful mission in the morning, they called the cubs out onto the open grassland for a grooming session.
And That’s It
My preferred one is #7 :)
Which one is yours?
- Hakan.