Award-winning photo by biologist Laurent Ballesta (Source: Discover Wildlife)
With this photo of a horseshoe crab moving slowly through the mud with three trevally swimming above, photographer and biologist Laurent Ballesta has won the 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.
“It is amazing to see a living horseshoe crab in its natural habitat, with haunting beauty,” said Judges Chair Kathy Moran.
Horseshoe crabs are older than dinosaurs. Fossils of this species date back 475 million years.
However, the horseshoe crab is currently threatened by habitat destruction and overfishing. In many parts of the world, horseshoe crabs continue to be harvested for their blood, which is used in vaccine development.
This is the second time Laurent Ballesta has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.
In 2021, the photo "Creation" capturing the image of 3 fish hiding in a "cloud" of eggs and sperm also helped the French photographer "take home" this grand prize.
This year, the Organizing Committee was surprised because the contest attracted 49,957 entries from professional and amateur photographers of all ages in 95 countries.
Entries were judged by an international panel of renowned photography experts, based on criteria of creativity, originality and compositional technique.
This year’s finalists are of high professional quality. Many capture precious moments: a playful monkey climbing on the back of a deer, a dramatic chase between a leopard and a wild cat, a bison “evacuation” in the snow…
What was most impressive, said Kathy Moran, was the diversity of subject matter in the works, from unique animal behaviors to the appearance of species rarely seen.
Besides, there are also pictures showing how humans are "treating" the natural world.
Meanwhile, Dr. Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum (London, UK) - said that the world is facing "urgent crises" in climate and biodiversity. Therefore, special photos of the natural world will have a great impact on the awareness of many people.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award is an annual competition run by the Natural History Museum London.
The activity aims to connect millions of people with the world's most beautiful wildlife works and call for the responsibility of people of all countries towards nature.
VNA
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