{"id":18905,"date":"2022-10-12T01:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T23:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=129193"},"modified":"2022-10-14T12:19:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T10:19:13","slug":"have-you-heard-the-buzz-about-the-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-winners","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/have-you-heard-the-buzz-about-the-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"Have you heard the buzz about the Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By James Cutmore\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 12 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The winners of the Natural History Museum\u2019s prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/a> competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London last night.<\/p>\n

American photographer Karine Aigner was announced as this year\u2019s Wildlife Photographer of the Year for her remarkable image of a buzzing ball of cactus bees spinning over the hot sand on a Texas ranch. In her bee-level close-up, all except one are males and they are intent on mating with the single female at the centre. Like most bees, they are threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change, as well as farming practices that disrupt their nesting grounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Karine is the fifth woman in the competition\u2019s 58-year history to be awarded the Grand Title prize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The brand-new redesigned exhibition at Natural History Museum<\/a>, featuring all of the winning images, will open on 14 October in London, United Kingdom.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall winner<\/h2>\n
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A buzzing ball of cactus bees (Diadasia rinconis<\/em>) spin over the hot sand in south Texas, USA. All but one of these bees are male, and they are trying to mate with the female at the centre of this ball. After a few minutes, a victorious male flies away with the female in order to mate.\u00a0Photo by Karine Aigner\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Underwater category<\/h2>\n
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This is a male Leiaster leachi <\/i>starfish\u00a0releasing streams of sperm into the water, at Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Other nearby sea stars were broadcasting sperm and eggs into the water at the same time, though the they were not within visual distance of one another. Over the course of an hour or more, the sea star swayed and twirled as it released its sperm. Photo by Tony Wu\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 10 years and under category<\/h2>\n
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Two ibex clash horns and trade blows while standing on their hind legs, at\u00a0Pian della Mussa, Piedmont, Italy.\u00a0In the early 1800s, following centuries of hunting, fewer than 100 Alpine ibex survived in the mountains on the Italian and French border. Successful conservation measures have seen those numbers recover.\u00a0Photo by Ekaterina Bee\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Photojournalism category<\/h2>\n
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An orphan mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei<\/em>) called Ndakasi is seen in her final moments in the arms of her Congolese caregiver of 13 years, Andre Bauma. Ndakasi was first introduced to rangers at the wildlife park at Virunga, Democratic Republic of Congo, during a heavy downpour in the park\u2019s rainforest. Photo by\u00a0Brent Stirton\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Mammal behaviour category<\/h2>\n
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From a vantage point across the ravine, we can see a snow leopard (Panthera uncia<\/em>) chasing a herd of Himalayan ibex towards a steep edge of the Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, India.\u00a0<\/span>Snow leopards live in some of the most extreme habitats in the world, and are classed as a vulnerable species. Threats include climate change, mining, and hunting of both the snow leopards and their prey.\u00a0<\/span>Photo by Anand Nambiar\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Animal portraits category<\/h2>\n
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A male Canary Islands houbara (Chlamydotis undulata fuertaventurae<\/em>) performs his impressive courtship display. Raising the plumes from the front of his neck and throwing its head back, it will run forward before circling back, resting for just a few seconds before starting again. Photographed at La Oliva, Fuerteventura, Spain. Photo by Jos\u00e9 Juan Hern\u00e1ndez Martinez\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Oceans: The bigger picture category<\/h2>\n
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Female tohor\u0101, or southern right whale (Eubalaena australis<\/em>), is seen mating with a male at\u00a0Deas Head, Auckland Islands, New Zealand. There is no aggression between males during these congregations. Photo by Richard Robinson\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Amphibians and reptiles\u00a0behaviour\u00a0category<\/h2>\n
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A Yucatan rat snake (Pseudelaphe phaescens<\/em>)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>poking out of a crack, having just snatched its bat prey in mid-air, at\u00a0Quintana Roo, Mexico. Every evening at sundown in the Cave of the Hanging Snakes, thousands of bats leave for the night\u2019s feeding, and some end up as food for hungry serpents.\u00a0Photo by Fernando Constantino Mart\u00ednez Belmar\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Plants and fungi category<\/h2>\n
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A group of morels, a type of edible sac fungi, are seen on Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece.\u00a0Morels are regarded as gastronomic treasures in many parts of the world because they are difficult to cultivate, yet in some forests they flourish naturally. Photo by Agorastos Papatsanis\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Winner \u2013 Animals in their environment\u00a0category<\/h2>\n
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A spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus<\/em>) looks across the landscape of Pe\u00f1as Blancas, Quito, Ecuador. These bears, found from western Venezuela to Bolivia, have suffered massive declines as the result of habitat fragmentation and loss. Around the world, as humans continue to build and farm, space for wildlife is increasingly reduced. Photo by Daniel Mideros\/Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

More images from Science Focus<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n