In pictures: winners of this year’s World Nature Photography Awards

Paddling orang utans, snoozing monkeys and a seal hunting for its lunch were just a few of the winners. These photos are all available.

Spare a thought for the penguin that featured in the grand prize winning shot of this year’s World Nature Photography Awards – the poor thing was about to be a leopard seal’s lunch. This is the cruelty of nature.

Photographer Amos Nachoum, from the US, captured the dramatic scene. He waited patiently in frigid conditions on the remote island of Plano – off the Antarctic Peninsula – for the precise moment at low tide, when the seals stealthily enter a lagoon and search for their prey. 

His patience was rewarded with a stunning underwater shot, which beat stiff competition to win the overall title. There were 13 categories overall, including ‘animal portraits’, ‘urban wildlife’ and ‘people and nature’. Each category had one winner. 

The World Nature Photography Awards was founded on the belief that photography can change people’s perceptions and help them to think differently about the world.  

The winning shot: A leopard seal in Antarctic hunting its lunch. Image: Amos Nachoum

“Seeing these images cannot fail to motivate one to do everything to protect this fragile planet of ours,” said Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the awards. 

 

Gallery: The winning shots