Wildlife Photographer of the Year chosen for Rhino Horn’s Unending Wars

22 October 2017

Getty Images Special Correspondent Photographer, Brent Stirton has been named the Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Museum of Natural History. Stirton was selected from almost 50,000 entries, and was awarded for his ground-breaking work documenting Rhino Horn’s Unending Wars – a project that investigates the crisis caused by a thriving market for rhino horn and for which he was also awarded first place in the ‘Wildlife Photojournalist Award: Photo Story’ category.

HLUHLUWE UMFOLOZI GAME RESERVE, KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA, 17 MAY 2016: A Black Rhino Bull is seen dead, poached for its horns less than 24 hours earlier at Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. It is suspected that the killers came from a local community approximately 5 kilometers away, entering the park illegally, shooting the rhino at a water hole with a high-powered, silenced hunting rifle. An autopsy and postmortem carried out by members of the KZN Ezemvelo later revealed that the large calibre bullet went straight through this rhino, causing massive tissue damage. It was noted that he did not die immediately but ran a short distance, fell to his knees and a coup de grace shot was administered to the head from close range. Black Rhino are the most endangered rhino, HluHluwe Umfolozi is one of the last repositories for these animals, with less than 3000 left in the wild today. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
HLUHLUWE UMFOLOZI GAME RESERVE, KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA, 17 MAY 2016: A Black Rhino Bull is seen dead, poached for its horns less than 24 hours earlier at Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. It is suspected that the killers came from a local community approximately 5 kilometers away, entering the park illegally, shooting the rhino at a water hole with a high-powered, silenced hunting rifle. An autopsy and postmortem carried out by members of the KZN Ezemvelo later revealed that the large calibre bullet went straight through this rhino, causing massive tissue damage. It was noted that he did not die immediately but ran a short distance, fell to his knees and a coup de grace shot was administered to the head from close range. Black Rhino are the most endangered rhino, HluHluwe Umfolozi is one of the last repositories for these animals, with less than 3000 left in the wild today. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
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BUFFALO DREAM RANCH, KLERKSDORP, SOUTH AFRICA, 24 MAY 2016: An anti-poaching team member holds a recently removed rhino horn from an animal that was moved to this property for its own safety from a more vulnerable ranch in another part of South Africa. The tatoo on his arm stands for Anti-Poaching Unit and the horn in his hand is these days of an unusual length. All the Rhinos on this property are routinely dehorned for anti-poaching purposes. A humane length of 110 milimeters is left to ensure no damage is done to the tissue at the base of the horn. Rhino horn typically grows back at a rate of a kilogram a year on an adult rhino. The horn that has been removed is microchipped, cataloged, registered with the Nature Conservation Authorities and held in a secure off-site facility. John Hume has close to 1400 Rhino to protect on his property and they are constantly monitored by his vet Dr Michelle Otto and by Hume’s Security teams. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
BUFFALO DREAM RANCH, KLERKSDORP, SOUTH AFRICA, 24 MAY 2016: An anti-poaching team member holds a recently removed rhino horn from an animal that was moved to this property for its own safety from a more vulnerable ranch in another part of South Africa. The tatoo on his arm stands for Anti-Poaching Unit and the horn in his hand is these days of an unusual length. All the Rhinos on this property are routinely dehorned for anti-poaching purposes. A humane length of 110 milimeters is left to ensure no damage is done to the tissue at the base of the horn. Rhino horn typically grows back at a rate of a kilogram a year on an adult rhino. The horn that has been removed is microchipped, cataloged, registered with the Nature Conservation Authorities and held in a secure off-site facility. John Hume has close to 1400 Rhino to protect on his property and they are constantly monitored by his vet Dr Michelle Otto and by Hume’s Security teams. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)

About Brent Stirton

Now based in Los Angeles, Brent Stirton is a South African photographer with an extensive history in the documentary world. His work has been published by: National Geographic Magazine, GEO, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times Magazine, The UK Sunday Times Magazine and many other respected international titles.

He has worked for WWF, CNN, the Ford, Clinton and Gates Foundations, the Nike Foundation and the World Economic Forum. Brent also shoots regular reports for Human Rights Watch. He has done numerous commercial assignments including annual reports for Novartis.

SABIE GAME PARK, MOZAMBIQUE, 14 APRIL 2016: Sightings of white rhino inside Sabie Game reserve in Mozambique. On this day 11 Rhino were sight, a mature bull, two young bulls and 4 calf and cow combinations. Rhino have been declared officially extinct in Mozambique and these rhino are part of a select few that venture out of nearby Kruger National Park in South Africa and into Sabie Game Park on the Mozambique side. Rhino poaching is rampant on the Mozambique side of the border and Sabie Game Park is working with IAPF, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, an NGO dedicated to Rhino protection. Thanks to their efforts Rhino have begun to apprear safely again in the Sabie Game Park area of Mozambique. The general life expectancy of a rhino that ventures out of Kruger into Mozambique is 12 to 24 hours before it will be shot for its horn. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
SABIE GAME PARK, MOZAMBIQUE, 14 APRIL 2016: Sightings of white rhino inside Sabie Game reserve in Mozambique. On this day 11 Rhino were sight, a mature bull, two young bulls and 4 calf and cow combinations. Rhino have been declared officially extinct in Mozambique and these rhino are part of a select few that venture out of nearby Kruger National Park in South Africa and into Sabie Game Park on the Mozambique side. Rhino poaching is rampant on the Mozambique side of the border and Sabie Game Park is working with IAPF, the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, an NGO dedicated to Rhino protection. Thanks to their efforts Rhino have begun to apprear safely again in the Sabie Game Park area of Mozambique. The general life expectancy of a rhino that ventures out of Kruger into Mozambique is 12 to 24 hours before it will be shot for its horn. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)

Stirton has received nine awards from World Press Photo and 10 awards from The Pictures of the Year International contest. He has received multiple Lucie Awards including International photographer of the Year, as well as multiple awards from the Overseas Press Club, The Webbys, The Association of International Broadcasters, the HIPA Awards, the Frontline Club, the Deadline Club, Days Japan, China International Photo Awards, the Lead Awards Germany, Graphis, Communication Arts, American Photography, American Photo and the American Society of Publication Designers as well as the London Association of Photographers.

Stirton has been recognised by the United Nations for his work on the Environment and in the field of HIV/AIDS. He has won the Visa d’Or at the Visa pour l’image Festival in France for Magazine photography. He also won the National Magazine Award for his work in the Democratic Republic of Congo for National Geographic Magazine. In 2016, he won the National Geographic Magazine Photographer's Photographer Award.

WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA, 27 MAY 2016: Images from inside the illegal Rhino Horn storage locker inside Namibia's Ministry of the Environment and Tourism. These horns have been collected from poaching incidents and were recovered from arrests, confiscations and conservation ranger anti-poaching activity. Namibia has expressed interest in placing a proposal to sell their horn on the table at a future CITES COP summit, repeatedly expressing that they would never destroy their stockpile of rhino horn.
WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA, 27 MAY 2016: Images from inside the illegal Rhino Horn storage locker inside Namibia's Ministry of the Environment and Tourism. These horns have been collected from poaching incidents and were recovered from arrests, confiscations and conservation ranger anti-poaching activity. Namibia has expressed interest in placing a proposal to sell their horn on the table at a future CITES COP summit, repeatedly expressing that they would never destroy their stockpile of rhino horn. "We will never destroy our horn, it's a natural resource and to do so would be unconstitutional. Our constitution is clear, we must use our natural resources for the benefit of current and future generations. In the future we will surely propose to CITES to sell our horn," says Elly Hamunyela, director of Scientific Service and one of the supervisors of the stockpile. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)

He guided a documentary on Virunga National Park in Conflict for National Geographic Television as well as appearing in the show. The documentary won the Emmy for Best Documentary Feature as well as a Bafta Award for Best Documentary. Brent received a Peabody Award for his work with Human Rights Watch for most significant work in an electronic medium. He was named Wildlife Photojournalist of the Year three years in a row by the Natural History Museum of the UK.

His work has appeared in numerous print shows around the world and his images are in a number of museum collections. Brent currently spends most of his time working on long-term investigative projects for National Geographic Magazine. He remains committed to issues relating to wildlife and conservation, global health, diminishing cultures, sustainability and the environment.

NELSPRUIT, SOUTH AFRICA, 4 MAY 2016: CARE FOR WILD AFRICA is a donor run NGO that specializes in caring for wounded animals. They have a special focus on rhino and have taken in many rhino orphans from the poaching wars across South Africa at this time. Petronel Niewoudt runs the facility with a small team of incredibly dedicated staff and groups of volunteers who come in from all over the world. Many of their rhino are small calves who have seen their mothers killed and often been attacked by the poachers themselves. Wounds from machetes across the spinal area are common as poachers try to break their spines so they cannot run away. Their latest orphan is Lulah, her mother was killed in Kruger National Park and when the rangers found Lulah she was estimated to be one month old. Hyenas had attacked the tiny calf and chewed off her ears, parts of her nose and inflicted a terrible bite on her rear right leg. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
NELSPRUIT, SOUTH AFRICA, 4 MAY 2016: CARE FOR WILD AFRICA is a donor run NGO that specializes in caring for wounded animals. They have a special focus on rhino and have taken in many rhino orphans from the poaching wars across South Africa at this time. Petronel Niewoudt runs the facility with a small team of incredibly dedicated staff and groups of volunteers who come in from all over the world. Many of their rhino are small calves who have seen their mothers killed and often been attacked by the poachers themselves. Wounds from machetes across the spinal area are common as poachers try to break their spines so they cannot run away. Their latest orphan is Lulah, her mother was killed in Kruger National Park and when the rangers found Lulah she was estimated to be one month old. Hyenas had attacked the tiny calf and chewed off her ears, parts of her nose and inflicted a terrible bite on her rear right leg. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
BUFFALO DREAM RANCH, KLERKSDORP, SOUTH AFRICA, 24 MAY 2016: A group of Rhino at a supplementary feeding site at the ranch of the worlds largest rhino breeder. According to the Ranche vet, Dr Michelle Otto, these feeding sites are meant to supplement the rhino diet in this time of drought, their main food source remains the grasslands on the farm. John Hume has close to 1400 Rhino on his property and they are constantly monitored by Dr Otto and by Hume’s Security teams. Hume’s running costs are close to 5 million Rand a month, around $330, 000.00 per month. He is a long time proponent of legalizing the Rhino horn trade and is one of the biggest influences in trying to get CITES to change their trade stance. Hume is reputed to have more than 5 tons of rhino horn in secure locations. This would be worth around $40,000,000 on the Asian market at current prices. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
BUFFALO DREAM RANCH, KLERKSDORP, SOUTH AFRICA, 24 MAY 2016: A group of Rhino at a supplementary feeding site at the ranch of the worlds largest rhino breeder. According to the Ranche vet, Dr Michelle Otto, these feeding sites are meant to supplement the rhino diet in this time of drought, their main food source remains the grasslands on the farm. John Hume has close to 1400 Rhino on his property and they are constantly monitored by Dr Otto and by Hume’s Security teams. Hume’s running costs are close to 5 million Rand a month, around $330, 000.00 per month. He is a long time proponent of legalizing the Rhino horn trade and is one of the biggest influences in trying to get CITES to change their trade stance. Hume is reputed to have more than 5 tons of rhino horn in secure locations. This would be worth around $40,000,000 on the Asian market at current prices. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
EZULU GAME FARM, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, 15 MAY 2016: Four pairs of Cow and calf rhinos are captured and moved into transport for relocation to a more secure facility. This is the last of 27 Rhino that are being moved away from game farms in the Port Elizabeth/Grahamstown region where it is feared that security is inadequate to protect these rhino from poachers. 6 rhino have already been killed in the last 3 months and the professional manner in which they were poached has prompted owners to say that it is better for these rhino to leave their farms and go to a more secure facility. The rhinos will travel for 20 hours to their new location and will be sedated every three hours by a vet who will accompany them at all times. They will also be guarded by full time security for their journey and full time at their final location. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)
EZULU GAME FARM, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, 15 MAY 2016: Four pairs of Cow and calf rhinos are captured and moved into transport for relocation to a more secure facility. This is the last of 27 Rhino that are being moved away from game farms in the Port Elizabeth/Grahamstown region where it is feared that security is inadequate to protect these rhino from poachers. 6 rhino have already been killed in the last 3 months and the professional manner in which they were poached has prompted owners to say that it is better for these rhino to leave their farms and go to a more secure facility. The rhinos will travel for 20 hours to their new location and will be sedated every three hours by a vet who will accompany them at all times. They will also be guarded by full time security for their journey and full time at their final location. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)