The competition, which began as a local contest for Indian photographers, brought together participants from 38 countries this year. Elephants and fish, pelicans and wild cats—a multitude of living creatures became the main characters. The selection was made from among 16,000 works by 1,250 photographers.
EcoPolitic invites you to view the winners' works—moments of wildlife captured by the camera lens.
Nature in its various manifestations
This year, winners were selected in eight categories: "Animal Behavior," "Animal Portraits," "Creative Nature," "Coexistence," "Nature Conservation," "Wild Landscapes and Animals in Their Habitat," "Young Photographer," and "Portfolio."
Animal Portraits
“Canopy Watcher”. Source: Nature inFocus
Federica Cordero captured this graceful pose of a young chimpanzee resting on a vine in Uganda.
“The Inquisitive Six”. Source: Nature inFocus
Amit Eshkol photographed a group of fluffy manuls basking on rocks in the windy Mongolian steppes.
Wild landscapes and animals in their natural habitat
“Thief in the Spotlight”. Source: Nature inFocus
A soft patch of light among the bizarre trees became the scene for a predatory fox. Photographed in Georgia by Serhiy Bystritsky.
“Green in Green”. Source: Nature inFocus
Second place in the category goes to a surprised frog hiding in bright foliage. The Malabar frog was photographed by Pratik Uday Pradhan.
Animal behavior
“Ancient Rivals”. Source: Nature inFocus
Photographer Amit Eshkol witnessed a recent hunt on Canada's Ellesmere Island. The photo shows eternal enemies—a wolf and caribou—forming a protective circle.
“Catch of the Day”. Source: Nature inFocus
The photo by Kashyap Narayana Ravala took second place. The photo shows an Indian fishing spider with its catch.
Coexistence
“Urban Oasis”. Source: Nature inFocus
On the horizon are the futuristic skyscrapers of Dubai. And in Ras al-Khor, there is a wintering ground for more than 25,000 migratory birds. Sartak Agrawal photographed a flock of flamingos in this area.
“A Field for Everyone”. Source: Nature inFocus
In the middle of a wheat field in Bihar, India, a tiger reclines. Here, nature and humans coexist in harmony.
Creative Nature
"Blue Aura". Source: Nature inFocus
The photo by Bidyut Kalita captures the barely perceptible movements of an insect on a slender branch illuminated by a lantern.
"Sky Patterns". Source: Nature inFocus
These patterns were created by the movement of a flock of birds near a building in Canada. Photo by Raghuvaamsh Chawali.
Young photographer
"Nautilus in Motion". Source: Nature inFocus
A female nautilus drifts atop a leaf in the nighttime water. The sea creature was photographed by 15-year-old underwater photographer from Thailand, Tinnapat Netcharusseng.
"Race to the Forest". Source: Nature inFocus
At dawn, after visiting the rice fields, elephants flee to the forest through an electric fence. The escape was captured by Danudja Palihawadana Arachchi from Sri Lanka.
You can view the works of Ukrainian photographers from the "Wiki Loves Earth" contest at the link.
