Gorilla hugging man who saved her life wins Photographer of the Year

The People’s Choice award in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition went to this photo of a lowland gorilla and the man who saved her (Picture: Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A tender hug between a lowland gorilla and the man who saved her life has been crowned the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award.

Photographer Jo-Anne McArthur took the photo in Cameroon, as the rescued gorilla – named Pikin – was being moved between animal sanctuaries.

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Pikin had been captured by poachers to be sold for bushmeat but luckily, charity group Ape Action Africa stepped in at the last minute.

Primate poaching, which is rife in Cameroon, sees hunters slaughter wild animals in order to sell their meat both in their country of origin and abroad.

Baby apes are often left orphaned after their mothers are killed and either die in the wild or are sold on as pets.

Pikin was being moved to a new enclosure within a safe forest sanctuary but woke up during her transfer when her sedation wore off.

Luckily, she woke up in the arms of her caretaker, Appolinaire Ndohoudou, a man she shared a particular bond with.

Like Pikin, Appolinaire was forced from his home, having fled Chad because of a civil war.

As he rebuilt his life in Cameroon, his work in protecting wild animals revived his appreciation for the natural world.

Jo-Anne captured the moment the two travelled together – which became the winning photo chosen by the public in the competition run by the Natural History Museum.

It was chosen from a shortlist of 24, selected by staff at the museum from almost 50,000 entries.

The picture will now be showcased in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Museum until it closes on May 28.

Sloth hanging out by Luciano Candisani (Picture: Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Luciano Candisani had to climb the cecropia tree, in the protected Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil, to take an eye-level shot of this three-toed sloth.

Sloths like to feed on the leaves of these trees and so they are often seen high up in the canopy.

Elegant mother and calf by Ray Chin (Picture: Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Every year from July to late October southern humpback whales migrate north from their Antarctic feeding grounds to give birth in the warm sheltered waters off Tonga.

Ray encountered this humpback mother and calf peacefully floating in the plankton-filled water around the island group of Vava’u, Tonga.

After Ray gently approached them, the giants swam a bit closer to have alook at him and he captured this shot as they turned around.

Roller rider by Lakshitha Karunarathna (Picture: Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Lakshitha was on safari in MaasaiMara National Reserve, Kenya, when he spotted a lilac-breasted roller riding a zebra.

Normally they prefer to perch high up in the foliage, but this roller spent an hour or more riding around and enjoying the occasional insect meal.

Lakshitha waited for the surrounding zebras to form the perfect background before taking this tight crop.

Warm embrace by Debra Garside (Picture: Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

When polar bear mothers and cubs emerge from their dens in the early spring, the cubs stay close to their mothers for warmth and protection.

Once the cubs are strong and confident enough, they make the trek to the sea ice with their mother so that she can resume hunting for seals.

Debra waited six days near the den of this family, in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada, before they finally emerged.

She risked frostbite in freezing conditions to capture the shot.

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