Shot of at risk monkeys a winner
A powerful image of a pair of golden snub-nosed monkeys seated in contemplation amid iridescent foliage has been awarded one of the most prestigious prizes in photography, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018. The image, called The Golden
Couple, was captured by Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten in the Qinling Mountains of southwestern China – the endangered monkeys’ only habitat.
Van Oosten said he was ‘‘both extremely proud and totally shocked’’ to have won the grand title in the contest, which is run by the Natural History Museum in London and in its 54th year.
‘‘It is a symbolic reminder of the beauty of nature and how impoverished we are becoming as nature is diminished. It is an artwork worthy of hanging in any gallery in the world,’’ said Roz Kidman Cox, the chair of the judging panel, of the winning image.
Skye Meaker, 16, from South Africa, won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 with his image of a just-awakened leopard in Botswana’s Mashatu Game Reserve.
A new Lifetime Achievement Award went to Frans Lanting, the renowned Dutch nature photographer based in Santa Cruz, California, ‘‘for his outstanding contribution to wildlife conservation over more than three decades,’’ the organisers said.
It is the latest accolade for Rotterdam-born Lanting, who in
2001 was made a Knight in the Royal Order of the Golden Ark in the Netherlands for his conservation work. The winning photos were chosen from more than
45,000 entries from 95 countries.