• © Sascha Fonseca (Germany). World of the snow leopard. Winner, People's Choice Award. Against a backdrop of the spectacular mountains of Ladakh in northern India, a snow leopard has been caught in a perfect pose by Sascha’s carefully positioned camera trap. Thick snow blankets the ground, but the big cat’s dense coat and furry footpads keep it warm. Sascha captured this image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project high up in the Indian Himalayas. He has always been fascinated by snow leopards, not only because of their incredible stealth but also because of their remote environment, making them one of the most difficult large cats to photograph in the wild.
    © Sascha Fonseca (Germany). World of the snow leopard. Winner, People's Choice Award. Against a backdrop of the spectacular mountains of Ladakh in northern India, a snow leopard has been caught in a perfect pose by Sascha’s carefully positioned camera trap. Thick snow blankets the ground, but the big cat’s dense coat and furry footpads keep it warm. Sascha captured this image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project high up in the Indian Himalayas. He has always been fascinated by snow leopards, not only because of their incredible stealth but also because of their remote environment, making them one of the most difficult large cats to photograph in the wild.
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Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award revealed after 60,466 votes tallied

10 February 2023

Following on from the announcement of the winners of the 58th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year in October, the winners of the coveted People’s Choice Award has just been revealed.

© Igor Altuna (Spain). Holding on. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. This leopardess had killed a monkey in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park. The monkey’s baby was still alive and clinging to its mother. Igor watched as the predator walked calmly back to her own baby. Her cub played with the baby monkey for more than an hour before killing it, almost as if it had been given live prey as a hunting lesson.
© Igor Altuna (Spain). Holding on. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. This leopardess had killed a monkey in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park. The monkey’s baby was still alive and clinging to its mother. Igor watched as the predator walked calmly back to her own baby. Her cub played with the baby monkey for more than an hour before killing it, almost as if it had been given live prey as a hunting lesson.

From a shortlist of just 25 images, selected from the over 39,000 images submitted for the competition, once tallying up for the 60,466 votes has been finalised, an image by German photographer Sascha Fonseca, World of the snow leopard, was revealed as the winner. The image was captured in Ladakh in northern India of a snow leopard at sunset, set against a snow-covered mountain range. Four Highly Commended images are also announced, captured by Martin Gregus (Canada), Igor Altuna (Spain), Marina Cano (Spain), and Brittany Crossman (Canada)

© Marina Cano (Spain). Portrait of Olobor. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. It was late afternoon when Marina found Olobor resting. He is one of the famous five-strong coalition of males in the Black Rock pride in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. All around the lion, the ground was black, having been burnt by local Maasai herdsmen to stimulate a new flush of grass. Marina wanted to capture his majestic and defiant look against the dark background and lowered her camera out of her vehicle to get an eye-level portrait.
© Marina Cano (Spain). Portrait of Olobor. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. It was late afternoon when Marina found Olobor resting. He is one of the famous five-strong coalition of males in the Black Rock pride in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. All around the lion, the ground was black, having been burnt by local Maasai herdsmen to stimulate a new flush of grass. Marina wanted to capture his majestic and defiant look against the dark background and lowered her camera out of her vehicle to get an eye-level portrait.

Fonseca captured the image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project high up in the Indian Himalayas. Known as the ‘ghost of the mountains’, there are only approximately 6,500 adults living in the wild, with snow leopards facing the threats of poaching, habitat loss, and human-animal conflict.

© Brittany Crossman (Canada). Fox affection. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. On a chilly day in North Shore on Prince Edward Island, Canada, a pair of red foxes, greet one another with an intimate nuzzle. The red fox’s mating season is in the winter, and it is not uncommon to see them together prior to denning.
© Brittany Crossman (Canada). Fox affection. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. On a chilly day in North Shore on Prince Edward Island, Canada, a pair of red foxes, greet one another with an intimate nuzzle. The red fox’s mating season is in the winter, and it is not uncommon to see them together prior to denning.

“Photography can connect people to wildlife and encourage them to appreciate the beauty of the unseen natural world,” Fonseca says. “I believe that a greater understanding of wildlife leads to deeper caring which hopefully results in active support and greater public interest for conservation.”

© Martin Gregus (Canada). Among the flowers. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. Martin watched this polar bear cub playing in a mass of fireweed on the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada. Every so often the cub would take a break from its fun, stand on its hind legs and poke its head up above the high flowers to look for its mother. Wanting to capture the world from the cub’s angle, Martin placed his camera – in an underwater housing, for protection against investigating bears – at ground level among the fireweed. He then waited patiently a safe distance away with a remote trigger. Not being able to see exactly what was happening, Martin had to judge just the right moment when the bear would pop up in the camera frame.
© Martin Gregus (Canada). Among the flowers. Highly Commended, People's Choice Award. Martin watched this polar bear cub playing in a mass of fireweed on the coast of Hudson Bay, Canada. Every so often the cub would take a break from its fun, stand on its hind legs and poke its head up above the high flowers to look for its mother. Wanting to capture the world from the cub’s angle, Martin placed his camera – in an underwater housing, for protection against investigating bears – at ground level among the fireweed. He then waited patiently a safe distance away with a remote trigger. Not being able to see exactly what was happening, Martin had to judge just the right moment when the bear would pop up in the camera frame.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.

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