Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov won 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, thanks to a photo taken by a hidden camera. The image show a massive Amur tigress hugging a secular Manchurian tree.
The amazing photo was taken in the remote forests of the Leopard National Park in Siberia. The renowned wildlife photographer used hidden cameras in order to catch this “unique glimpse of an intimate moment deep in a magical forest,” how the moment was called by Roz Kidman Cox – the chair of the judges. It took over 11 months for Gorshkov’s cameras to capture this stunning sight.
Congratulations Sergey! 🏆 Selected from over 49,000 entries, this is a rare glimpse of a magnificent Amur tigress fully immersed in her natural environment, hugging an ancient Manchurian fir in the Russian Far East. #WPY56 pic.twitter.com/LpIqN5gZG5
— Wildlife Photographer of the Year (@NHM_WPY) October 13, 2020
Gorshkov’s photo was selected from over 49,000 images and the award was announced by the Duchess of Cambridge during an online event hosted by the Natural History Museum in London.
‘…Thank you to all of those who entered for showing us the magic of the natural world and for reminding us that caring for our environment and its precious biodiversity has never been more important’ – HRH The Duchess of Cambridge @KensingtonRoyal #WPY56 pic.twitter.com/Qlz5bP5Kbu
— Wildlife Photographer of the Year (@NHM_WPY) October 13, 2020
“It’s a scene like no other,” Kidman Cox told BBC News. “The lighting, the colours, the texture… It’s almost as if the tiger is part of the forest. Her tail blends with the roots of the tree. The two are one.
The Amur or the Siberian tiger is currently listed as a critically endangered species. Their population has drastically decreased over the last years, due to poaching and habitat loss, mostly because of logging. There are less than 600 of these majestic creatures, left in the wild.