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Photos: slumbering lions win top photo prize

This photo of slumbering lions has won Michael 'Nick' Nichols the much-coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year Title. Photo by: Michael 'Nick' Nichols / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
This photo of slumbering lions has won Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols the much-coveted Wildlife Photographer of the Year Title. Photo by: Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


The king of beasts took this year’s top prize in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is co-owned by the Natural History Museum (London) and the BBC. The photo, of female lions and their cubs resting on a rock face in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, was taken by Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols, a photographer with National Geographic.



This is the 50th year of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The awards were presented last week by Sir David Attenborough, the renowned wildlife filmmaker and a patron of the museum



“I remember the very first one,” Attenborough said, who also presented awards at the first competition in 1964. “It was a great occasion but it’s marvelous to see what it’s grown into. It is a true privilege to be here after 50 years of these wonderful competitions.”



For its fiftieth anniversary, the competition—which is considered one of the top photo competitions in the world—kickstarted its first-ever Public Choice Award, which is decided by an international vote.



Below are a selection of some of this year’s winners, but for the full selection see the 2014 Gallery.




The photo of an orphaned black rhino cuddling up to a wildlife ranger in Zimbabwe was a finalist in the People's Choice Award. Photo by: Hilary O'Leary / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.

The photo of an orphaned black rhino cuddling up to a wildlife ranger in Zimbabwe was a finalist in the People’s Choice Award. Photo by: Hilary O’Leary / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.



A blue ghost? No, this photo of a Portuguese man o'war in Australia was a finalist in the Invertebrates category. Photo by: Matthew Smith / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
A blue ghost? No, this photo of a Portuguese man o’war in Australia was a finalist in the Invertebrates category. Photo by: Matthew Smith / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


En garde! This photo of the aptly-named sword-billed hummingbird fending off a collared inca hummingbird in Ecuador was named a finalist in the Birds category. Photo by: Jan van der Greef / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
En garde! This photo of the aptly-named sword-billed hummingbird fending off a collared inca hummingbird in Ecuador was named a finalist in the Birds category. Photo by: Jan van der Greef / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


A pack of hyenas scavenging a garbage dump in urban Mekelle in Ethiopia was a finalist in the World In Our Hands category. Photo by: Karine Aigner / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
A pack of hyenas scavenging a garbage dump in urban Mekelle in Ethiopia was a finalist in the World In Our Hands category. Photo by: Karine Aigner / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


This photo was made for alliteration: a mouse on a mushroom meets a mosquito with the moon behind. This photo, shot in Montana, won the Mammals category. Photo by: Alexander Badyaev / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
This photo was made for alliteration: a mouse on a mushroom meets a mosquito with the moon behind. This photo, shot in Montana, won the Mammals category. Photo by: Alexander Badyaev / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


A close up of the variable neon nudibranch, a species of sea slug, from Indonesia was a finalist in the Invertebrates category. Photo by: Alex Mustard / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
A close up of the variable neon nudibranch, a species of sea slug, from Indonesia was a finalist in the Invertebrates category. Photo by: Alex Mustard / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.



Find the animal! The shot of a leopard in the Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya was a finalist in the Mammals category. Photo by: David Lloyd / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
Find the animal! The shot of a leopard in the Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya was a finalist in the Mammals category. Photo by: David Lloyd / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


The photo of a teenager in Tunisia selling a fennec fox won this year's World In Our Hands category. Photo by: Bruno D'Amicis / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
The photo of a teenager in Tunisia selling a fennec fox won this year’s World In Our Hands category. Photo by: Bruno D’Amicis / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.


Aesop made real: this picture of a mouse sheltering under a lion's paw in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve was a finalist int he People 's Choice category. Photo by: Juan Carlos Mimó Perez / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.
Aesop made real: this picture of a mouse sheltering under a lion’s paw in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve was a finalist int he People ‘s Choice category. Photo by: Juan Carlos Mimó Perez / Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014.











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