The image of a Iberian lynx playing with its prey won the prestigious public award Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Standing on its hind legs with one front paw extended, the lynx appears both playful and predatory, swatting at an unlucky rodent as a prelude to killing and eating it.
More than 85,000 people voted, choosing from 24 finalist photos. This selection was made from a total of 60,636 entries and is separate from the main competition, the winner of which was announced in October.
The winning photo in the public’s choice category was taken by Austrian photographer Josef Stefan, who captured the moment after spending three days camouflaged in a hideout in Torre de Juan Abad, in central Spain.
During that time, the bobcat made “brief appearances from time to time,” Stefan told CNN. “On the second day, this special moment came completely unexpected; he suddenly appeared with a freshly caught mouse in his mouth, lay down next to me and remained there attentively for a while.”
Shortly afterwards, the lynx began to play with its prey. “He repeatedly threw the mouse into the air, skillfully caught it and occupied himself with it for about 15 to 20 minutes. Eventually he lost interest, picked up the mouse and disappeared behind a bush, where he ate it,” Stefan said.
“About 20 minutes later, he reappeared: calm, almost proud, he passed by my hiding place and finally disappeared into the surrounding vegetation.”
Iberian lynxes, recognized by their tufted ears and spotted reddish-brown fur, were once one of the most endangered mammals in the world, after years of being hunted by humans who mistakenly believed they preyed on livestock, in addition to the reduction of their natural habitat. At the time, it was “practically impossible” to photograph them, Stefan recalled.
In the early 2000s, there were around 100 individuals in Spain, according to Natalie Cooper, a researcher at the Natural History Museum. “Only 62 of them were adults,” he added in a statement released on Wednesday.
But intensive conservation efforts have increased the species’ population to about 648 adult individuals in 2022, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Although they are still difficult to find, their presence now feels “real again,” Stefan said. “With patience, knowledge of their habitats, and a little luck, these fascinating animals can once again be observed—and sometimes even photographed.”
“The lynx is not only a rare subject, but also a powerful symbol of how effective nature conservation can be,” he said.
Four others were named as finalists in the competition. They included images of a group of flamingos in the water, framed by power lines, their pink color reflected by the setting sun; two bear cubs play-fight as a car approaches; a sika deer carrying a rival’s head still attached to its antlers; and three polar bear cubs resting, curled up next to their mother.
