BIG PICTURE NATURAL WORD Photography

Resilience Shot on Kangaroo Island

“Resilience”, shot on Kangaroo Island, SA, in 2018 is a finalist in the 2019 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition. Picture: Julie Fletcher

Black Grouse Showing Off

The first-prize winning photograph, titled “Black Grouse Showing Off”, Tromsø, Norway. Picture: Audun Rikardsen

PiggyBack Ride

“Piggyback Ride”, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique Picture: Piotr Naskrecki

Sea Dragon

“Sea Dragon”, Galápagos, Ecuador. Picture: Pier Mane

Breakfast with Bats

“Breakfast with Bats” photographed in Victoria, Australia. Picture: Doug Gimesy

The Last Jump

“The Last Jump”, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. Picture: Javier Aznar González de Rueda

Snow Sparks

“Snow Sparks”, Goričan, Croatia. Picture: Petar Sabol

The Human Touch

“The Human Touch” shows a gorilla embracing a caretaker at Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. Picture: James Gifford

Bohemian Skirt

“Bohemian Skirt”, Anilao, Philippines. Picture: Jingong Zhang

Rainbow Lorikeet Eating Nectar

“Rainbow Lorikeet Eating Nectar” taken at Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia. Picture: Cortez Austin

Flamingo Socks

“Flamingo Socks”, Julianadorp, Curaçao. Picture: Jasper Doest

Throne of Kelp

“Throne of Kelp”, Farne Islands, UK. Picture: Ellen Sophie Cuylaerts

Duality Senja

“Duality”, Senja Island, Norway. Picture: Armand Sarlangue

Brown Bear

“Brown bear. Underwater view”. A brown bear spots an underwater camera as he hunts for salmon in Kamchatka, Russia. Picture: Mike Korostelev

Changing Borders

“Changing Borders”, Big Island, Hawaii, US. Picture: Luis Manuel Vilariño Lopez

Travelling to the Edge

“Travelling to the Edge”, Namib-Naukluft Desert, Namibia. Picture: Prince (Buddy) Eleazer

Crab Eater Seal Resting on the Ice

“Crab Eater Seal Resting on the Ice”, Antarctica. Picture: Florian Ledoux

Boneyard Waltz

“Boneyard Waltz”, Kaktovik, Alaska, US. Picture: Daniel Dietrich

Losing Wings

“Losing Wings”, Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. Picture: Piotr Naskrecki

A Koala looking over her bushfire-ravaged forest home on Kangaroo Island, South Australia has made the winners list of an extraordinary international photography exhibition.

In another winning local entry, entitled “Breakfast with Bats”, animal rescue workers in Victoria care for grey-headed flying foxes.

These are not just beautiful pictures for the sake of looking at something cute or pretty.

The purpose of the BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition is to “Inspire Action to Protect and Sustain” the natural world.

In one image, a cheeky baby monkey swings cheekily on the low-hanging tails of his elders.

In another, a flamingo rescued by a vet inspects the socks created to help heal his severe foot wounds after he flew into a hotel room window.

These powerful photographs are among the 50 winning entries from more than 6500 photos submitted to the 2019 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition. The competition is in its sixth year and is open to professional and amateur photographers around the world.

Other winning entrants include a stunning view of Norway’s Senja Island — which boasts an incredible landscape that looks like a scene from the TV series Game of Thrones — and a jaw-dropping underwater shot of a determined bear hunting for salmon in Russia.

This year’s grand prize-winning image was by photographer Audun Rikardsen of Tromso, Norway, and shows a black grouse looking to impress female birds.

All 50 winning images will be featured in the annual BigPicture photography exhibition from July at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, US.

| Source: www.kidsnews.com.au |