Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016

Tim Laman – Entwined Lives – Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 – Grand Title Winner:

Tim Laman

Revealed in October, the gallery of stunning shots from Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 is now open at the Natural History Museum in London before touring elsewhere. It is aimed at demonstrating the extraordinary lives and plight of animals across the globe. As the museum’s Director, Sir Michael Dixon, puts it: “Wildlife Photographer of the Year highlights some of the big questions for society and the environment: How can we protect biodiversity? Can we learn to live in harmony with nature? The winning images touch our hearts, and challenge us to think differently about the natural world.”

American photographer Tim Laman won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 for his image Entwined Lives (above), which shows a critically endangered Bornean orangutan above the Indonesian rainforest. This wasn’t as easy as holding a camera and getting the settings right: Tim spent a number of days rope-climbing the 30-metre tree to set a number of GoPro cameras ready for triggering. This species is clinging on to a last refuge amidst habitat loss and poaching increases.

Speaking to the Natural History Museum, Laman says that “Protecting their remaining habitat is critical for orangutans to survive. If we want to preserve a great ape that retains its vast culturally transmitted knowledge of how to survive in the rainforest and the full richness of wild orangutan behaviour, then we need to protect orangutans in the wild, now.”

Look through the beautiful photos below, and then check out the photographers’ websites to support their work.

Simon Stafford – The Aftermath – Mammals Winner [Left] & Ganesh H Shankar – Eviction Attempt – Birds Winner [Right]:

Nayan Khanolkar – The Alley Cat – Urban winner:

Tony Wu – Snapper Party – Under Water Winner:

Lance-van-de-Vyver – Lioness – Black and White Finalist:

16-year-old Gideon Knight from the UK won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 title for this image below. This follows his success in ZSL’s annual competition.

“If an image could create a poem, it would be like this. It should certainly inspire a few lines,” said Lewis Blackwell, Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury. “The image epitomises what the judges are always looking for – a fresh observation on our natural world, delivered with artistic flair.”

Gideon Knight – The Moon and the Crow – Young Grand Title Winner:

Paul Hilton – The Pangolin Pit – Wildlife Photojournalist Single Image Winner:

Valter Binotto – Wind Composition – Plants Winner:

Charlie Hamilton James – Bear and Birds – Mammals Finalist:

All images courtesy of the Natural History Museum, London. All Rights Reserved by individual photographers.