A stunning picture of a sleeping polar bear has won the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award. According to BBC, the portrait titled 'Ice Bed' has been clicked by British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani. His photo was crowned as champion following a contest in which a record 75,000 people voted.
Notably, Mr Sarikhani captured the image after three days of searching for polar bears off the coast of Norway. When his expedition vessel changed course, he finally encountered two polar bears and caught the younger one climbing onto a small iceberg and carving out his bed. The image he took shows a male polar bear having a peaceful night's sleep.
See the picture here:
''Sarikhani's breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet.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," Natural History Museum director Dr Douglas Gurr said.
Reacting to the win, Mr Sarikhani said, ''I am so honoured to have won this year's People's Choice award for Wildlife Photography of the Year, the most prestigious wildlife photography competition. 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 hope. There is still time to fix the mess we have caused.''
The four "Highly Commended" finalists include "The Happy Turtle" by Tzahi Finkelstein, "Starling Murmuration" by Daniel Dencescu, Mark Boyd's "Shared Parenting" and Audun Rikardsen's stunning capture "Aurora Jellies".
Here are some other images submitted to the competition:
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The annual contest was originally founded in 1965 by BBC Wildlife Magazine.
