A snow leopard at sunset, posed against the mountains of Ladakh in northern India, has been voted as the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.
Snapped by Sascha Fonseca, the image was selected from a shortlist of 25 images chosen by the Natural History Museum from nearly 39,000 photographs submitted for the fifty-eighth competition.
A record 60,466 nature photography fans voted, with German photographer Mr Fonseca’s World of the snow leopard emerging as the favourite.
“Photography can connect people to wildlife and encourage them to appreciate the beauty of the unseen natural world,” Mr Fonseca said.
“I believe that a greater understanding of wildlife leads to deeper caring which hopefully results in active support and greater public interest for conservation.”
The image was captured during a three-year bait-free camera trap project in the Indian Himalayas.
Known as the “ghost of the mountains”, this species is incredibly challenging to photograph due to their camouflage, as well as their scarce numbers in remote and rugged habitats.
With an estimate of only 6,500 adults living in the wild, these big cats face the threats of poaching, habitat loss and human-animal conflict.
The winning image will be displayed in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London until it closes in July this year.
Here are the four “Highly Commended” finalists:
Warning: This story contains graphic images of dead animals
Among the flowers by Martin Gregus, Canada
Holding on by Igor Altuna, Spain
Portrait of Olobor by Marina Cano, Spain
Fox affection by Brittany Crossman, Canada
