Page 54 - Australian Photography Dec 2020
P. 54
THE WINNERS:
RESULTS: 2020 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF
THE EMBRACE
BY SERGEY GORSHKOV, RUSSIA OVERALL WINNER, WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2020
With an expression of sheer ecstasy,
a tigress hugs an ancient Manchurian fir, rubbing her cheek against bark to leave secretions from her scent glands. She is an Amur, or Siberian, tiger, here in the Land of the Leopard National Park, in the Russian Far East. The race – now regarded as the same subspecies as the Bengal tiger
– is found only in this region, with
a small number surviving over the border
in China and possibly a few in North Korea. Hunted almost to extinction in the past century, the population is still threatened by poaching and logging, which also impacts their prey – mostly deer and wild boar, which are also hunted. But recent (unpublished) camera‐trap surveys indicate that greater protection may have resulted in a population of possibly 500‐600
– an increase that it is hoped a future formal census may confirm.
Nikon Z7, 50mm f1.8 lens. 1/200s @ f6.3, ISO 250. Cognisys camera‐trap system.
| 54 | DECEMBER 2020 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
