Capturing wonders of the world
Fish with passengers and curious seals among the stunning pictures taken by wildlife photographers
TAKEN FOR a ride they may be. But they don’t look too upset about it.
One of the most striking portraits in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has to be three clown anemonefish, with some rather strange passengers onboard.
The extra eyes peeping out from their mouths belong to isopods, parasites which suck their hosts’ blood and eventually take the place of their tongue.
The image was captured with great patience – and a little luck – in the Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, by photographer Qing Lin, a finalist in the annual competition. It is now in its 53rd year, run by the Natural History Museum.
Among the finalists, selected from nearly 50,000 entries, is a mother Wedell seal introducing her pup – its curiosity piqued by photographer Laurent Ballesta – to the icy waters of east Antarctica.
A bedraggled but defiant bald eagle stares at the camera lens for Klaus Nigge on Amaknak Island in Alaska, while two sea angels, which use their winglike lobes as swimming paddles, prepare to mate in the Sea of Okhotsk in the Russian Far East. Photographer Andrey Narchuk had to make an emergency ascent after being swept into a wall of gill netting – but not before he had got his shot.
Young American photographer Ashleigh Scully shot the image of a young cub with its mum in Alaska’s Lake Clarke National Park. “I fell in love with brown bears and their personalities,” she said.
“This young cub seemed to think that it was big enough to wrestle mum to the sand. As always she played along, firm and patient.”
The overall winners will be announced on October 17, with the exhibition of the best entries from Friday, October 20 until spring next year. The stunning pictures will also embark on a UK and international tour, “bringing the wonder and fragility of the natural world to millions beyond London”, said the museum, in Kensington, west London.