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A photograph of a badger captured glancing up at Banksy-style graffiti in St Leonards has swept to victory in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 60 People’s Choice Award.
The Natural History Museum said the picture taken by Ian Wood, called No Access, fought off competition from 24 other images to emerge victorious.
The museum added that after residents of St Leonards had been leaving food scraps on the pavement for foxes, Ian noticed that badgers from a nearby sett were also coming to forage.
Having seen a badger walking along the pavement by this wall late one night, he decided to photograph it and set up a small hide on the edge of the road to take his picture. Only the light from a lamppost illuminated the creature as it ambled along, the museum said.
Ian said: “The outpouring of badger love since my photo was nominated for the People’s Choice Award has been beautifully overwhelming. Finding out that it has won is truly humbling. However, there is a darker side to this image. I live in rural Dorset where I’m on a re-wilding mission to enhance habitats for a huge array of wildlife. The badger cull, which is still ongoing, has decimated their numbers and I fear that unless the cull is stopped, we’ll only see badgers in urban settings in several parts of England. My hope is for this image to raise awareness of the damaging effect of the badger cull and help push for change.”
The 25 nominated images for this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award received a record number of votes with more than 76,000 wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world voting for their favourite image, the Natural History Museum said.
Dr Douglas Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said: “Ian’s flawlessly timed image offers a unique glimpse of nature’s interaction with the human world, underscoring the importance of understanding urban wildlife. His exceptional photograph serves as a powerful reminder that local nature and wildlife, often just outside our homes, can inspire and captivate us.”
Mr Wood’s photograph, as well as four other highly commended images, will be displayed at the museum until June 29.
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