As today is Rhino Friday we decided to feature a rhino story making headlines this week.
Every year the Natural History Musuem in London hosts the annual wildlife photographer of the year showcasing the best in nature photography. The winning images appear on the website and leading publication worldwide.
Over 50,000 images are submitted each year by professional and amateur photographer and finalist are chosen by an international jury based on creativity, originality and technical excellence over different categories.
South African photographer, Brent Stirton, was the grand title winner for his image which he captured at Hluhluwe Imfolozi game reserve in north-eastern South Africa of a poached black rhino. it is believed the poachers entered the reserve illegally and used a silencer to shot and kill the rhino by a waterhole and later fled leaving the mutilated body behind.
The image named ‘Memorial to a Species’ is part of a series of photographs which Brent has captured, he visited more than 30 sites were animals have been killed.
Due to the ongoing poaching black rhinos are critically endangered, it is believed that there are only 5,000 black rhinos left.
Some of the other winners include:
Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year
‘The Good Life’ by Daniël Nelson
11-14 years old category
‘Stuck In’ by Ashleigh Scully
Animal Portraits category
‘Contemplation’ by Peter Delaney
Animals in Their Environment category
‘The Night Raider’ by Marcio Cabral
For three seasons, Marcio had camped out in Brazil’s Cerrado region, on the vast treeless savannah of Emas national park, waiting to capture the termite mounds’ light display