Stunning Photo of Rare Snow Leopard Wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Sascha Fonseca
The people have spoken, and they have chosen the photo of a rare snow leopard in India as the People's Choice Award winner for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards.
The Natural History Museum of London, which hosts the annual contest, announced the People's Choice Award winner of the 2022 awards on Feb. 9. The champion shot is "World of the Snow Leopard" by Sascha Fonseca, which features a rare and elusive snow leopard on a snowy mountain in the Indian Himalayas looking out at the colorful sky. The photographer, Sascha Fonseca, set up a bait-free camera trap on the cliffside for three years to capture the shot.
Fonesca's "World of the snow leopard" won the competition with a whopping 60,466 votes.
"I'm incredibly proud to be the winner of this year's People's Choice Award, and I thank all the supporters around the world for making this happen," the German photographer said in the announcement. "Photography can connect people to wildlife and encourage them to appreciate the beauty of the unseen natural world."
Fonesca added, "I believe that a greater understanding of wildlife leads to deeper caring, which hopefully results in active support and greater public interest for conservation."
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In December, the Wildlife Photographer of the Years Awards released dozens of photos the competition selected as finalists for the People's Choice Award. The finalists were chosen from thousands of submissions. Animal lovers could then vote for their favorite photo until voting closed on Feb. 2.
Auke-Florian Hiemstra
The snow leopard in the winning photo is one of only 6,500 living snow leopards left in the wild. The animals are often challenging to capture on camera due to their scarcity, mountain habitat, camouflage, and stealth.
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Fonseca's photo will join the 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards exhibit at the Natural History Museum in London, where photography lovers can see the display until July 2.
