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A heart - wrenching image capture a untested polar bear nap on the melting combat of a flyspeck , float berg .
British amateur photographerNima Sarikhanicaptured the view off the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard , which sit deep inside the Arctic Circle , around 500 miles ( 800 kilometers ) from the North Pole . The image was coronate the success of this year’sWildlife Photographer of the Year People ’s Choice Award .
A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) carves out a bed from a small iceberg before drifting off to sleep in the far north, off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.
After three solar day of urgently searching forpolar bears(Ursus maritimus ) through thick fog , the expedition vessel that Sarikhani was on changed course of action and sailed southeast toward some sea shabu . There , the crew spot two polar bear — a young and an elderly male . Just before midnight , as the ship hovered close to the bear , the younger one mount onto a humble iceberg and carved out a layer with his paws before drifting off to sleep .
" This picture has invoke strong emotions in many of those who have seen it , " Sarikhani say in a statement share with Live Science .
appendage of the populace vote " Ice Bed " as the competition winner from a shortlist of 25 images curated by a control panel of judges and the Natural History Museum in London .
A Balkan pond turtle (Mauremys rivulata) shares a moment of peaceful coexistence with a northern banded groundling dragonfly in Israel’s Jezreel Valley.
" Nima ’s heartrending and poignant picture allow us to see the beauty and delicacy of our planet,“Douglas Gurr , director of the Natural History Museum , said in the statement . " His persuasion - arouse image is a consummate reminder of the entire bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual agency of the detrimental impacts of clime heating and home ground going . "
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mood changeis considered the large threat to the selection of polar bear in the wild , as ascend temperatures melt away the sea ice these beast depend on . An estimated 26,000 diametric bears remain in the wild , according to theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species , and they are considered vulnerable to extinction .
Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) swarm in the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø in northern Norway illuminated by the aurora borealis.
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A pair of lionesses (Panthera leo) devotedly groom one of the pride’s five cubs in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
" Whilst climate change is the big challenge we face , I hope that this photograph also inspires hope , " Sarikhani said . " There is still time to get the flock we have caused . "
The winning photograph will be exhibit alongside four other " extremely recommend " images both online and in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exposition at the Natural History Museum until June 30 . The shortlist photographs can be seen below .
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produce by the Natural History Museum , London .
A mesmerising mass of starlings swirl into the shape of a giant bird on their way to communal roosts above the city of Rome, Italy.
Watch polar bear sonny boy emerge from their winter lair for 1st clock time on Svalbard
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