A marine photographer won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest for their photo of a golden horseshoe crab, one of the oldest and most endangered animals in the world. The Natural History Museum in London announced the winner on Tuesday.
Laurent Ballesta took this photo of what appears to be a three-golden trevallie tri-shoe crab on the bottom of the ocean off the coast of the Philippines. According to the museum, Ballesta filmed the horseshoes as they waded through the water, ate, mated, and gave shelter to other creatures.
Ballesta’s photo was selected from more than 50,000 entries from 95 countries. The Natural History Museum hosts the annual Wildlife Photographer Of The Year contest. The jury chair, Kathy Moran, called Ballesta’s image “luminous.” She added,
"To see a horseshoe crab so vibrantly alive in its natural habitat, in such a hauntingly beautiful way was astonishing,"
It's the second time Ballesta has won the grand prize, having previously taken home the title in 2021.
Horseshoe crabs are typically found in waters off southeast Asia and despite their name, they're more closely associated with spiders and other arthropods than with crabs. According to the Natural History Museum, the horseshoe crab has survived relatively unchanged for around 100 million years — and has been around since the time of dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus rex were roaming the planet.
However, their existence is under threat. Overfishing, paired with habitat destruction and ocean pollution, has led to all living species of horseshoe crabs being at risk. Its blue blood is critical for the development of vaccines, as it is used to detect potentially hazardous bacterial contamination. Furthermore, they are also used as bait for other species.
Carmel Bechler, a 17-year-old photographer from Israel, won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for his long-exposure photo of two barn owls in an abandoned roadside building. Bechler said that he hoped his photography would show people that "the beauty of the natural world is all around us, even in places where we least expect it to be." The judge, Kathy Moran, said that Bechler's photo is "rich in content and composition." She said that it "highlights both habitat destruction and adaptation, and makes us ask ourselves: If wildlife can adapt to our environment, why can't we respect theirs?"
Ballesta’s and Bechler’s photographs were selected from 19 other category nominees. The entire collection will be on display at the Museum of Natural History starting Friday.
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