Award-winning pictures of polar bears, owls, otters and snow leopards
- Published
Here is this year's winner! Dmitry Kokh is a nature photographer from Russia, and took this photo of some bears that had taken over an abandoned house in Kolyuchin, in Russia. The village used to be a weather station during the Soviet Union, which was closed in 1992, but it's now been taken over by polar bears. Dmitry took the shot with a quiet drone, getting slowly closer and closer to the bears so they did not get spooked.
Hoo goes there? This cheeky owl won Clemence Till from Switzerland the best youth photographer category. The judge praised the "perfect setting" that Clemence had chosen surrounding the owl. He called the piece 'First Flights Missed'.
Knut Sverre-Horn, from Norway, won the bird category with his interesting point of view on these urban kittiwakes. He took the picture through a window, showing the birds undisturbed in their family.
This incredible image was the result of a three-year-long camera project in the Himalayas. Sascha Fonseca managed to get a picture of the endangered snow leopard exploring the slopes, and won the mammal category.
Helga Urb谩n from Hungary used special technology to create this image of an island, which won the landscape category.
This underwater category winner shows two different worlds - one underneath the water, of the toads laying eggs, and one above, of the rainy and rocky landscape. It was taken by Kazushige Horiguchi, from Japan.
Ernst Dirksen's picture of this cheeky otter peering up through the ice-hole won the black and white category. The judges said they loved the bubbles coming up to the surface and all the shapes in the ice.
Through the dark water you can see a Coot - a type of water bird - swimming on the surface. This picture by Franka Slothouber, from the Netherlands, won "De Lage Landen" category.
The Iberian Lynx's camouflage is showcased in this picture taken by Allisandro Beconi. Despite having unusual fur, the lynx's colours match the mossy rocks perfectly.