Deep in the forest of China’s Qinling Mountains, two golden snub-nosed monkeys surveyed their surroundings – and Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten was there to capture the moment.
Marsel van Oosten has been awarded the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for his portrait, “The Golden Couple,” which caught the primates in their only habitat on earth.
The photograph of the majestic pair beat more than 45,000 entries and 18 other winners in various categories to claim the overall prize, awarded annually by Britain’s Natural History Museum.
The two golden snub-nosed monkeys captured in the photograph are part of an endangered species that live exclusively in the Shaanxi Province, where the image was taken.
Taking the photo was no mean feat, as van Oosten had to watch the animals closely over a period of time in order to learn and predict their movements to catch them at a still moment.
“I am both extremely proud and totally shocked that I just won the overall title Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018!
“Congratulations to all the other winners, especially my fellow Dutchmen Frans Lanting, Jan van der Greef, and Jasper Doest, and a big thank you to Daniella – my voice controlled mobile light stand,” van Oosten said following the announcement.
Some of the other category winners include:
Category: 15-17 Years Old. This shot of a leopard waking up from a slumber in Botswana won 16-year-old Skye Meaker the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.
Category: Earth’s Environments. A high dune on Namibia’s desert coastline, where mounds of wind-sculpted sand merge with the Atlantic Ocean.
Category: Mammals. A young mountain gorilla in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest mourns over the corpse of her baby. Guides told photographer Ricardo Núñez Montero that the baby had probably died from the cold soon after being born.
