Destroying the stereotype of the hulking gorilla, this picture reveals the species in an atypically tender light. Tomasz Szpila’s photo “Touch” captures a male gorilla’s gentle digit upon a baby sibling’s forehead. It also saw Szpila crowned 2022 Wilderness Safaris Photographer of the Year.
Only seven days old at the time, the infant primate belongs to the Nshongi family, who live in the far-flung forests of Uganda. As with the arrival of a newborn human, the birth of a mountain gorilla is a boon for the family—and species as a whole.
Wilderness Safaris, a conservation tourism initiative, aims to showcase the majesty of Africa with its yearly competitions, attracting thousands of entries from across the continent. Some of the winners are wry and even chilling, such as Thomas Vijayan’s winning photo for African Wildlife of a lion in the Masai Mara, Kenya. It hovers an enormous paw over the head of its tiny prey, a young, and presumably tasty, piglet.
Some are particularly poignant—one specimen of the fading pangolin, a victim of poaching, was rescued at an airport while being smuggled through. Its claws removed, the creature was in desperate condition. It died a few days after Australian Blair Eastwood photographed it clutching a vet’s arm to keep warm.
Photographer of the Year
African Wildlife
Conserving Africa’s Wilderness
The shy, long-snouted, ant-eating pangolin is thought to be the most heavily-trafficked mammal in the world. Tens of thousands are killed annually. Their meat is considered a delicacy in China and Vietnam, and their scales are used in Chinese medicine. Eastwood earned top prize for Conserving Africa’s Wilderness for his work highlighting their plight.
Other photographs depict human beauty. Giovanna Aryafarafor portrays a mother and child donning traditional facial decoration in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Aryafarafor scooped first place in the People’s Choice category, decided by 5,600 votes cast by the public.
People’s Choice
Floria Kriechbaumer made use of startlingly clear skies and lack of light pollution in Keetmanshoop, Namibia, to beautifully photograph the Milky Way, winning the African Landscape category.
The Young Wilderness Safaris Photographer of the Year award went to Gabriela Potgieter for her charming shot of a monkey tucking into a snack.
With the fate of countless African animal species in jeopardy, Wilderness Safaris works to support training in schools geared towards nurturing future custodians of Africa’s wilderness. Its sixth annual Africa in Focus Photographic Competition raised the equivalent of nearly US$20,000 to support this effort.
Photographer of the Year Tomasz Szpila was thrilled to receive an all-expenses-paid, eight-night safari for two. He gets to choose a Wilderness Safaris-run camp in Botswana, Zambia, or Zimbabwe, complete with paid flights and a private photographic guide.
People Cultures and Communities of Africa
African Landscape
Young Photographer of the Year
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