Polar bear image captures wildlife photo of the year award

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A drowsy polar bear curling up on a drifting iceberg in Norway fetched this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.

The image was taken by British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani and selected by the Natural History Museum in London as the photograph that best captures “inspiring and impactful stories from the natural world to create advocates for the planet.”

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Sarikhani spent three days aboard an expedition vessel off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago before finally capturing the image of the young male polar bear carving out a bed for himself on the iceberg.

“Nima’s breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet,” Natural History Museum director Dr. Douglas Gurry said.

“His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss.”

Sarkhani agreed.

“This photograph has stirred strong emotions in many of those who have seen it. Whilst climate change is the biggest challenge we face, I hope that this photograph also inspires hopes; there is still time to fix the mess we have caused,” the photographer said in a press release.

More than 50,000 photos were entered into the 2023 competition, and a panel of judges and the Natural History Museum shortlisted 25. The polar bear’s “Ice Bed” was chosen as the winner by 75,000 members of the public — a record number, said the museum.

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The museum highlighted four others worthy of special commendation:

‘Aurora Jellies’

Scandinavian photographer Audun Rikardsen’s photo shows two moon jellyfish illuminated by the aurora borealis in a fjord outside the northern Norwegian town of Tromsø. The artist reportedly sheltered his equipment in “a self-made waterproof housing” and “used a single exposure” to “capture the reflection of the sky’s colours on the surface of the water.”

‘The Happy Turtle’

Israeli photographer Tzahi Finkelstein captured “a moment of peaceful coexistence” in the Jezreel Valley shared between a Balkan pond turtle and a dragonfly that perched on its nose. “The turtle appeared to be experiencing pleasure from the interaction as they shared a moment of peaceful coexistence in the midst of the swamp’s murky waters,” the photo is captioned.

‘Starling Murmuration’

Daniel Dencescu followed starlings around Rome for a day to capture a flock of them swirl into the shape of a giant bird. The phenomenon of a flock of shifting into different shapes is known as murmuration.

‘Shared Parenting’

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Mark Boyd, director of the conservation group Safari Collection Footprint Foundation, was in Kenya’s Maasai Mara wilderness when he spotted a pair of lionesses return from hunting to the pride’s five cubs just before sunrise. He snapped the intimate moment when one of the three-month-old cubs got his morning wash.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The five images seen here will be showcased as part of an exhibition at the museum until June.

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