A badger, a fan of Banksy, wins the public prize from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024

A badger seeming to admire a Bansky Street Art work representing a congener in a street in St Leonards-on-Sea, a COTIER CITIER in southern England, won the public prize for the animal photographer of the year 2024. The organizers Duwildlife Photographer of the Year, on Wednesday February 5, announced the winner of the 10^e Edition of the public prize, namely photographer Ian Wood.

The Briton won the only price not to be awarded by the international jury of the famous nature photographic competition, organized by the London Natural History Museum. This shot entitled « No Acces » came at the top of the public vote among the 25 finalist images selected by the organization and the jury of the competition. This year, record participation was recorded by the organizers, with more than 76,000 internet votes from around the world.

Douglas Gurr, the director of the Natural History Museum justified this victory: « Captured at the right time, Ian’s image offers a unique overview of the interaction between nature and the human world, stressing the importance of understanding urban fauna. This exceptional photograph reminds us forcefully that local nature and fauna, which are often just around our homes, can inspire us and amaze us. »

Collective awareness

Ian Wood, the big winner of the competition detailed the history of this now famous photo: « After residents of St Leonards-on-Sea, England, left leftover food on the sidewalk for the foxes, I noticed that the badgers of a neighboring colony also came to look for something Their hunger. Having seen one of these mustelids walk on the sidewalk near this wall late at night, I decided to photograph it by installing a small cover on the side of the road to take my photo. Lighted by the only light of a floor lamp, the badger was walking, seeming to take a look at the graffiti representing a congener, drawn just above him. »

The latter continued by highlighting the collective awareness of the inhabitants of the St Leonards-On-Sea district: « Since my photo was selected from the finalists for the public prize, the love of the badgers has spread extraordinary. Learning that she won is a real lesson in humility. However, this image has a darker side. I live in the Rural Dorset where I am on a research mission to improve the habitats of a large number of wild species. The slaughtering of badgers by thousands, still in progress, decimated their population and I fear that less than to put an end to it, we will only see badgers in urban environment in several regions of England. I hope that this image will sensitize the public to the harmful effect of slaughter of these animals and to help change things. »