Josef Stefan’s winning photograph, titled Flying Rodent, shows a young, playful Iberian lynx in Torre de Juan Abad, Ciudad Real, Spain.
The Nuveen People’s Choice Award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition gives the public the opportunity to choose their favourite from a selection of shortlisted images. The 24 nominated photographs were selected by the competition’s international jury from more than 60,000 wildlife photographs submitted from around the world.
The public then voted for their favourite among the finalists. A total of 85,917 wildlife and photography enthusiasts from around the world cast a vote for their favourite photograph. This is the highest number of votes ever recorded in the history of the category.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year was originally launched in 1965 by BBC Wildlife Magazine. It had three categories and received around 600 entries. In 1984, the competition as we know it today was established, and it is now organised by the Natural History Museum in London.
From the outset, the competition became the leading event of its kind for wildlife photographers and grew significantly over the years. This year, the jury reviewed almost 50,000 photographs submitted by wildlife photographers from 95 different countries.
Josef Stefan was thrilled when he was given the opportunity to spend two weeks in a hide observing lynx near Torre de Juan Abad in Ciudad Real, Spain. The winning photograph shows a young lynx playfully tossing a rodent into the air before killing and eating it – behaviour that is typical of the species. The play lasted for around 20 minutes before the lynx lost interest and carried the rodent behind a bush to eat it.
For photographer Josef Stefan, the image is a symbol of hope and of what can be achieved when concerted efforts are made to protect endangered species.
– The journey towards this image was more than just another photographic adventure – it was the fulfilment of a dream I had carried for many years: to encounter the Iberian lynx, one of the world’s rarest and most endangered wild cats. In the early 2000s, the species was on the brink of extinction. Today, there are more than 2,000 individuals, thanks to sustained conservation efforts. The Iberian lynx is a living symbol of hope and shows what can be achieved when we take responsibility, act deliberately and focus our attention where it is needed most. Winning this award and having the opportunity to share this message is the highlight of my 30-year career as a wildlife photographer, says Josef.
The People’s Choice Award is a special part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Each year, the competition’s jury selects a number of photographs from the many thousands of images submitted, after which people around the world can vote for their favourite.
The nominated images cover a wide range of subjects – from dramatic moments in the natural world to poetic scenes of nature and thought-provoking stories about the relationship between people and nature. This year’s nominees included photographs of a swimming crab, a polar bear family travelling through the Arctic, and a Malayan sun bear sheltering from the rain in an old kiln – the latter photographed by Danish wildlife photographer Mogens Trolle.
See all 24 nominated photographs here.
The winning photograph – together with the 23 other nominated images – can be seen as part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum Denmark in Copenhagen. Here, visitors can get an up-close look at some of the world’s finest wildlife photographs.
The exhibition presents a selection of the images entered into the competition by wildlife photographers from around the world, chosen from more than 60,000 submissions.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is organised by the Natural History Museum in London and is considered the world’s most prestigious wildlife photography competition.
