While wild animals also have moments of compassion, delicate birds sometimes get into conflict, as some of the winning photos from the 2022 Nature Photographer of the Year photo contest show.
And all is not what it seems: a supposedly cute moment between a lion and a hippopotamus is actually a snapshot of nature’s food chain.
The competition selects photos in eight categories, but the most interesting are those that capture the funny, candid and angry moments of animals.
The winner of the photo contest photographed the hunting moment
Images were selected from more than 8,000 photos submitted by professional and amateur photographers, including children.
Contest Photographer of the Year, Dennis Stogsdill, received the award for the photo of the lynx hunt, which is considered the best in the Animal Behavior category.
A lynx and its trophy, Dennis Stogsdill, USA
The photo was taken at Lake Ndutu in Serengeti Park in Tanzania, where a desert lynx preys on flamingos feeding in shallow waters.
“Within a minute of my arrival, the lynx started a chase and (dramatically) managed to prey on one of the beautiful but unlucky birds. The picture shows the animal leaving with its prize.”
Tickle To Death, Dennis Stogsdill, USA
In addition to the winning photo, Stogsdill also won an honorable mention for this photo of a lion that looks like it’s tickling a baby hippo. But the puppy is his food.
Overcrowding, Posted by I Think Mate, Hungary
The hilarious picture that won the competition shows some chaos among flamingos clustered in a muddy puddle.
Pachyderm, Jan Piecha, Germany
The jury members of the photography competition awarded this photo, which caught the eye of a huge elephant in the background, and a delicate monkey with its cub in the foreground.
Advantage Points, by Achintya Murthy, India
Murthy won the Young Photographer of the Year (Under 16) award for this image of two Malabar parakeets, also called blue-winged parakeets, fighting on a log with grains of rice hidden inside.
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I have my eyes on you
Some photos of the award-winning animals were taken while the ‘star’ was facing the photographer.
In others, the traps have captured moments of solitude, but still seem to feel like they’re being watched.
I see you, by Tomasz Szpila, Poland
First prize in the Wild Portraits category was this photo of a lion staring at the photographer, taken in Moreni in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
“Although the lion was safely in the car, when he looked me in the eye, I slowly backed away so as not to provoke him. Fortunately, he and his brothers were busy eating a buffalo calf they were hunting.”
A moment in the woods, by Matt Engelmann, Switzerland
The picture shows a lone fox in the forest. The photographer followed the animal for a month until he caught the moment.
Golden Light, Mitchell Lewis, Australia
Framed by a beautiful golden light, the rabbit was one of the winning photos in the photography contest.
The Killing of the Leopard Cub, by Lauren Petrorius, USA
The image captured the moment the monkey realized that the leopard cub had died.
Beautiful and pollen-covered, by Tim Crabb, UK
Small insects also took part in the competition. One example is this beautiful image showing a micromoth (Micropterix calthella) covered with golden pollen balls from a buttercup found at Mutter’s Moor near Sidmouth, Devon, England.
Still Alive, by Thomas Vijayan, Canada
The photographer captured the lonely tiger on top of a snowy mountain using a camera trap.
Host, Pruthvi B, India
Another winner in the Nature Photographer of the Year photo contest was the jaguar wandering around a house.
Sunbeam, Andy Schimid, Switzerland
Some creatures under the sea also seem to pose for the camera. Scmid caught a Pink Whipray ray among a flock of flagfish against the setting sun at the famous dive site known as ‘The Tuna Factory’ near Malé, the capital city of Maldives.
Caviar, Talia Greis, Australia
One of the winning photos in the competition was a male Oriental Gobbleguts with a mouth full of eggs.
When the female of the species is ready to transfer the eggs, the male opens his mouth to retrieve them. It protects the eggs for a month until they are ready to hatch.
Shy, by Yung-sem Wu, Taiwan
A purple and pink fish peers into the camera through the tentacles of an anemone. Another award-winning feature of the competition, in which the green of the anemone and the tones of the fish contrast.
The photos were published by the Nature Photographer of the Year competition organization.
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source: Noticias
