WPOTY
With an expression of sheer ecstasy, a tigress hugs an ancient Manchurian fir, rubbing her cheek against bark to leave secretions from her scent glands. She is an Amur, or Siberian, tiger, here in the Land of the Leopard National Park in the Russian Far East. The race – now regarded as the same subspecies as the Bengal tiger – is found only in this region, with a small number surviving over the border in China and possibly a few in North Korea. Hunted almost to extinction in the past century, the population is still threatened by poaching and logging, which also impacts their prey – mostly deer and wild boar, which are also hunted. But recent (unpublished) camera‑trap surveys indicate that greater protection may have resulted in a population of possibly 500 to 600 –
an increase that it is hoped a future formal census may confirm. Low prey densities mean that tiger territories are huge. Sergey knew his chances were slim, but was determined to take a picture of the totem animal of his Siberian homeland. Scouring the forest for signs, focusing on trees along regular routes where tigers might have left messages – scent, hairs, urine or scratch marks – he installed his first proper camera trap in January 2019, opposite this grand fir. But it was not until November that he achieved the picture he had planned for, of a magnificent tigress in her Siberian forest environment.
Winner, Animals in their Environment, andGrandTitle Winner The embrace by Sergey Gorshkov, Russia
Camera details: Nikon Z 7, 50mm f/1.8 lens, 1/200sec at f/6.3 and ISO 250. Cognisys camera trap system
Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates A tale of two wasps by Frank Deschandol, France
This remarkable simultaneous framing of a red-banded sand wasp (left) and a cuckoo wasp about to enter next-door nest holes is the result of painstaking preparation. The female hedychrum cuckoo wasp parasitises the nests of certain solitary digger wasps, laying her eggs in her hosts’ burrows so that her larvae can feast on their eggs or larvae and then the food stores. The much larger red-banded sand wasp lays her eggs in her own burrow, which she provisions with caterpillars, one for each of her young to eat when they emerge. In a sandy bank near his home in Normandy, France, Frank located tiny digger wasp burrows out of full sun and suitable for a cuckoo wasp to use. He then set up an infrared beam that, when broken by a wasp, would trigger the superfast shutter system he had built and positioned in front of the lens. Despite the extremely narrow depth-of-field and tiny subjects, he captured not only the cuckoo wasp, but also the sand wasp. Camera details: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm f/2.8 lens with close-up 250D lens and reverse-mounted lens; 5secs at f/13 at ISO 160. Customised high-speed shutter system; six wireless flashes and fresnel lenses; Yongnuo trigger; Keyence infrared sensor, Meder Reed relay and amplifier; Novoflex Magic Balance and homemade tripod
OVER 49,000 ENTRIES from across the globe were received for this year’sWildlife Photographer of the Year contest. Developed and produced by London’s Natural HistoryMuseum, this competition is the world’s oldest andmost prestigious nature photography contest and is open to photographers everywhere and of all ages and abilities. With incredible images from all corners of the earth, this contest is a celebration of our planet’s rich diversity, as you can see fromour small selection of the very best. To enjoy more, the results are on display at the Natural History Museum in London until 6 June 2021. All visitors must book tickets for the exhibition in advance from the museum’s website.
22 Photography News | Issue 83
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