Gorgeous image of snow leopard at sunset is People’s Choice for Wildlife Photographer of the Year

After announcing last year’s contest winners, Wildlife Photographer of the Year has now also revealed the winners of People’s Choice Awards. They’re just as magnificent as the overall and category winners of the contest, but only one can be the one. And this time, it’s German photographer Sascha Fonseca with his spectacular image of a snow leopard at sunset.

Nearly 39,000 images were submitted to the 58th Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. The jury selected a shortlist of 25 images, and let the public have their vote. A record 60,466 people voted, and Sascha’s World of the snow leopard was a “firm favorite.”

Sascha captured this image during a three-year bait-free camera-trap project in the Indian Himalayas. Snow leopard is also known as the “ghost of the mountains,” which tells you just how much it’s difficult to spot, let alone photograph. With an estimate of only 6,500 adults living in the wild, these big cats face the threats of poaching, habitat loss and human-animal conflict.

Speaking about his victory, Sascha says:

“I’m incredibly proud to be the winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award and I thank all the supporters around the world for making this happen. Photography can connect people to wildlife and encourage them to appreciate the beauty of the unseen natural world. I believe that a greater understanding of wildlife leads to deeper caring which hopefully results in active support and greater public interest for conservation.”

As I mentioned, there are also four Highly Commended finalists. They include a heart-wrenching image titled Holding on by Igor Altuna, Fox affection by Brittany Crossman, Martin Gregus’s Among the flowers, and Marina Cano’s Portrait of Olobor.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum. And like in previous years, all of the contest winners and runner-ups will be displayed at the museum until 2 July 2023. But if you’re as far away from it as I am, enjoy the images in the digital form below, and don’t forget to check out the rest of the 2022 contest winners.