Sergey Gorshkov’s Amur tiger wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020

Two weeks ago, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, announced the winner of the annual prestigious wildlife photography competition Wildlife Photographer of the Year. This time round the prize went to a Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov, who captured a beautiful shot of an Amur tiger hugging a tree. This and other fascinating photographs are now on display at the Natural History Museum, which is the organiser of the competition.

Sergey Gorshkov’s photo is truly unique because of its subject – an endangered Amur, or Siberian, tiger, which are incredibly hard to track and photograph due to the large territories they inhabit and roam. After Gorhskov installed a hidden camera in the Land of the Leopard Park in the Russian Far East it took over 10 months to capture the magnificent creature. However, it was worth the wait, since the photo of a tigress hugging an ancient Manchurian fir tree to mark it with her scent is a rare depiction of a species of tigers that has almost been hunted to extinction. Recent major conservation efforts led to an increase in wild populations, but due to a lack of prey these tigers have to cover very large distances in search for food, which makes them very elusive. Gorhskov’s photograph entitled “The Embrace”, that captured the competition’s jury and scooped up the grand prize, is currently on display at the Natural History Museum’s exhibition “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” along with other contestants’ works.

“Wildlife Photographer of the Year” at the Natural History Museum runs until June 6, 2021. To book tickets click here.

Cover photo: Sergey Gorshkov/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

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