Spanish photographer Javier Aznar González de Rueda has been crowned GTD European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 with his photograph of a stink bug mother caring for her young.
For over two weeks, the biologist observed the maternal care behaviour of a stink bug in Ecuador's Yasuní National Park. To Javier's surprise, the female bug guarded not only its eggs but also the newly hatched larvae up to their first moult.
Javier said: 'Maternal care significantly increases an offspring's chances of survival. In Ecuador's rainforest, juvenile stink bugs are vulnerable to attack by numerous predators and parasitoids such as ichneumon wasps. This is a highly complex ecosystem with countless organisms in a vast interconnected web of life.'
The European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is one of the most renowned competitions for contemporary nature photography in Europe and beyond.
Launched in 2001, the event quickly became a notable fixture on the international stage. Over the years, the competition has became a seismograph for the ever-changing, contemporary nature photography scene.
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The category winners
Birds winner
Birds in forest by Csaba Daróczi
Mammals winner
The last dance by Jens Cullmann
Other Animals winner
Water ballet by Marjan Artnak
Plants and Fungi winner
Lichen dinner by Roberto Buen
Landscapes winner
Volcanic swirls by Joel Delmas
Underwater World winner
Night time squadron by Catherine Holmes
Men and Nature winner
Lost at sea by Angel Fitor
Nature's Studio winner
Secret of the Mediterranean by Bruno D'Amicis
Young Photographer 14 years-old and under winner
Tightrope artist by Alberto Román Gómez
Young Photographer 15-17 years-old winner
Wave by Luca Lorenz
Rewildling Europe Award
As part of this year's European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, the Rewilding Europe Award was presented for the second time.
This award was offered by the GDT in cooperation with Rewilding Europe to honour outstanding achievements in photography with a focus on rewilding. The aim here is to give nature time and space to restore itself in regions that have been affected by human activity. By creating the right conditions, nature can once again shape its own landscapes. This includes pristine river dynamics, the natural succession of forests, complete food chains with their diverse predator-prey relationships, the creation of open landscapes as a result of grazing by large herbivores, and much more.
Rewildling winner
Wolves on the hunt by Tobias Richter
'It was a late summer evening at one of the countless ponds in the German Lausitz' says Tobias Richter. 'After there had been a thunderstorm in the afternoon, I decided to stay longer than usual in my camouflage hiding place, as the rising fog created a special atmosphere. In the late dusk wild boars (Sus scrofa) approached the water surface.
'Shortly after, two wolves (Canis lupus) pounced on the drinking young. While they fled into the reeds, the sow tried to defend them. After an obviously unsuccessful chase, the wolves returned to the pond and howled in near darkness.'
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