A photo of an almost 40-year-old gorilla in Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable national park, braving the rain, has won the Animal Portrait recognition in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The photo was captured by Kuwaiti photographer, Majed Ali. He said he trekked for four hours in Bwindi to meet the gorilla named Kibande.
In the mugshot, the gorilla is seen closing his eyes and mouth, as if meditating, with visible rain droplets on the face.
The 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition saw 50,000 entries from 95 countries vying for a prize. Judges looked for innovation, narrative, and technical skill.
Organized by the Natural History Museum in London and in its 57th edition, awards were given in 19 categories of wildlife photography, including behavior, photojournalism, and portraiture.
Majed Ali captured the gorilla as it stayed still despite the rain in his natural habitat, Bwindi, which is home to more than half of the world’s mountain gorilla population.
“The more we climbed, the hotter and more humid it got,” the photographer recalls.
Uganda Tourism Board chief executive, Lilly Ajarova commented on the development congratulating Ali and saying the image was “totally beautiful”.
French underwater photographer, Laurent Ballesta emerged Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 for his photo of camouflage groupers exiting their milky cloud of eggs and sperm in a biosphere reserve in Fakarava, French Polynesia.
A 10-year-old Indian photographer, Vidyun R. Hebbar, was awarded the prize of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his image of a tent spider in its web, with a backdrop of an auto-rickshaw passing by.
Some winning photos from this year’s competition…
