Sergey Gorshkov Awarded the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year award was conferred upon Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov on 13^th October, 2020. The awarded image- entitled ‘The Embrace’- beautifully captures a Siberian tigress embracing a fig tree. The image is especially dazzling as Siberian tigers are one of the most endangered animal species on the planet, with only around a few hundred of them remaining. A ray of hope is expressed with this unique photograph as this marks the possibility of their growing numbers. This prestigious award was conferred upon Sergey Gorshkov by the London Museum of Natural History. 

Gorshkov’s Hard Work Pays Off

The award is much well deserved as Gorshkov invested a significant portion of a year attempting to capture this master piece –with slim odds of success. Remote camera traps were used by Gorshkov over a period of eleven months to capture this perfect shot. He conducted a thorough research of the area to determine the best for the remote camera trap. After a careful examination of tiger paw prints, hair, scent and markings, he decided to fix his camera opposite the Manchurian fig tree- as seen in the image- hoping for the best outcome.

A Glimmer of Hope

This year celebrated the 56^th anniversary of the reputed multi-category wildlife photography competition. Innovation, technical brilliance and narrative outlay are analyzed by the esteemed panel of judges in the images submitted. Roz Kidman Cox, Chair of the judging panel was quoted expressing a sense of marvel with regard to this year’s selected winner, stating that, “it’s a scene like no other. A unique glimpse of an intimate moment deep in a magical forest”. The distinctive narrative distilled from this now esteemed shot is the whiff of hope that captivates the onlookers. Tom Littlewood, Executive Director of science at the London Museum of Natural History was quoted saying that the image exudes hope and displays the strong ‘emotive power of photography’ that reminds one of the splendor of the natural world and humanity’s ‘shared responsibility to protect it’.