Wildlife photographer of the year: the images of contemplative monkeys win



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Qinling monkeys with a rolled-up nose

Copyright of the image
Marsel van Oosten / WPY

In the photo, we see two monkeys camouflaged on a stone and staring in the distance. What are they looking at and what are they thinking?

It turns out that they observe a great chaos between the members of their troop.

This image of apparent serenity as opposed to agitation is the big winner of the Animal Photographer Contest of the Year 2018, announced at a gala dinner at the Natural History Museum in London.

The photo was taken by Marsel van Oosten in the Qinling Mountains in China.

The Dutchman had to follow the troupe for several days to understand the dynamics of animals and predict their behavior. His goal was to show off the beautiful hair on the back of a snub nose monkey and the blue face of the creature.

Marsel's perseverance has finally paid off with this exquisite composition that includes a smaller woman behind.

The photographer told BBC News that he was "shocked and honored" to receive this award. "I'm glad it's due to this particular image because it's about an endangered species that very few people even know that it exists and it's important that we realize that many species on this planet are threatened.

"These are not just rhinos, tigers and polar bears, these species deserve much more attention and all the protection that they can get."

The image is neither spectacular nor shocking, unlike the WPY winners. But something inspiring attracts you, says Roz Kidman Cox, president of the competition's judges.

"As we examined the entries, we kept coming back to it," she recalls. "It's almost like a set, I think it's colors and lighting that make it strong.

"These monkeys normally feed on the trees, but in one way or another, Marsel managed to catch them on the ground, and he carefully threw a very gentle flash on the stage to illuminate this astonishing fur."

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Leopard lying by Skye Meaker

Leopard in the Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana

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Skye Meaker / WPY

This year's junior winner is Skye Meaker from South Africa for his picture of a sleepy leopard in Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana.

The animal is well known and bears the name of Mathoja, which means in Bantu "one who walks without limping". The leopard has broken a leg as a minor.

He survives but has to fight, because unlike other big cats, he can not shoot dead prey into the trees to eat it, says Skye. It means eating on the floor, where hyenas always try to kill.

"We waited several hours to get this shot, I wanted Mathoja's eyes to be open, and just a few minutes, that's what happened … Mathoja looked at us."

In addition to her big title, Skye, 16, wins the 15-17 age group.

Kidman Cox: "I have enough leopards on a log, it's a cliche, but Skye has something different here, I think it has to do with the light, the green spotted on the back And then there is the expression on the face of the leopard. "

Here are some other section winners:

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Owls Pipe by Arshdeep Singh

Owls in a blowjob

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Arshdeep Singh / WPY

Category 10 and under – This photo is taken by another young person, Arshdeep Singh. He won his section for this photo taken just outside Kapurthala, a city in the Indian state of Punjab. He said: "I saw the owls flying in the tube and I told my dad.He said it was not possible, but he stopped the car.We We had to wait 20 or 30 minutes until they came back, and then I took the picture. "

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Seal bed of Cristobal Serrano

WPY

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Cristobal Serrano / WPY

Animals in their category – Cristobal Serrano from Spain took this photo of crabetier seals resting on an ice floe off the Antarctic Peninsula. The seals have a close relationship with the pack ice because it is the habitat that provides shelter and food (seaweed) to krill, tiny crustaceans. And it is the krill that is the main source of food for seals.

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Mud-slurry mud by Georgina Steytler

Mud wasps in Walyormouring Nature Reserve, Western Australia

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Georgina Steytler / WPY

Behavior: Category Invertebrates – Georgina Steytler took this picture of muddy wasps in the Walyormouring Nature Reserve, in the west of Australia, by leveling up. In the mud. "I just got a long lens, shot after shot, I wanted one of the wasps to have a mudball, and to have two was amazing, it's a good chance, but you have to be in the right place good time with the right equipment ". Wasps use the balls to build nest chambers where they lay on the paralyzed bodies of spiders.

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Night Flight by Michael Patrick O'Neill

Flying fish off Palm Beach Florida

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Michael Patrick O'Neill / WPY

Underwater category – This is a flying fish captured for the purpose of American photographer Michael Patrick O'Neill. He was taken during a night dive off Palm Beach, Florida. These fish are very shy during the day but at night are easier to approach. Michael tried various camera and light settings to get that other worldly impression of the animal.

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The sad clown of Joan de la Malla

Macaque dressed as a clown

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Joan of the Malla / WPY

Animal photojournalism category – This shocking image of a street monkey was taken by Joan of the Malla on the island of Java, Indonesia. It's a macaque who has been forced to wear a clown mask. "It's painful and the macaque has his hand up to try to remove it," Joan explains. The Spanish photographer collaborates with animal rights groups to try to stop this type of street show. In recent weeks, this has happened. and this animal, known as Timbul, returns to nature.

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Mother defender by Javier Aznar González de Rueda

Alchemist Treehopper and his nymphs

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Javier Aznar Gonzalez de Rueda / WPY

Category Wildlife Photographer – Javier Aznar González de Rueda, another Spanish photographer, has captured a series of images, the latter representing the Alchisme hopper. The photo, taken in the reserve El Jardín de los Sueños in Ecuador, shows a mother who keeps her nymphs. A tree-tree will lay its eggs on the underside of a nightshade leaf, then cover them with a thin secretion. Once the eggs have hatched, they develop through five nymphal stages, of different size, color, and ornament.

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Hellbent by David Herasimtschuk

A Hellbender salamander fights with a northern snake

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David Herasimtschuk / WPY

Behavior, category Amphibians and Reptiles – A Hellbender salamander holds a northern water snake in its mouth on this photo taken in the Tellico River in Tennessee. David Herasimtschuk says the snake finally managed to escape after struggling against the largest aquatic salamander in North America.

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Windsweep by Orlando Fernandez Miranda

Sand dunes on the desert coast of Namibia

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Orlando Fernandez Miranda / WPY

The category of Earth environments – The summit of a high dune on the skeletal coast of Namibia's desert, where mounds of sand carved by the wind merge with the waves of the Atlantic that break. Take a closer look and you will see the fog that often forms in this region of Africa. As the fog moves inland, it gives plants and insects vital moisture.

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WPY is one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind in the world of photography.

Launched in 1964, the contest is now organized by the Natural History Museum in London.

An exhibition of the best images opens at the South Kensington Institution on Friday. Next year's contest will begin to receive registrations as of Monday.

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