February 12, 2020

Photo of 2 mice 'fighting' on subway platform wins award

Sam Rowley/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Station squabble by Sam Rowley, UK

The photo of two mice that appear to be fighting in London’s Underground has won the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year LUMIX People's Choice Award.

More than 48,000 photos were submitted.

Photographer Sam Rowley said he spent five days lying on the dirty London subway platform waiting for just the right moment. The mice would occasionally "fight" over scraps of food dropped by passengers but the tussles lasted only a few minutes, he noted.

Here are other images that were entered in to the contest. You can see the entire exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London until May 31.

Aaron Gekoski/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Losing the fight by Aaron Gekoski, UK

Orangutans have been used in degrading performances at Safari World, Bangkok – and many other locations –for decades. The shows were temporarily stopped in 2004 due to international pressure, but today the shows continue twice a day, every day, with hundreds of people paying to watch the orangutans box, dance, play the drums and more.

Martin Buzora/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The surrogate mother by Martin Buzora, Canada

Elias Mugambi is a ranger at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya. He often spends weeks away from his family caring for orphaned black rhinos like Kitui here. The young rhinos are in the sanctuary as a result of poaching or because their mothers are blind and cannot care for them safely in the wild.

Michel Zoghzoghi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Matching outfits by Michel Zoghzoghi, Lebanon

Michel was in Pantanal, Brazil, photographing jaguars. One afternoon, as he was on the Tres Irmaos River, a mother and her cub crossed right in front of his boat. He watched mesmerized as they left the water holding an anaconda with a very similar pattern to their own.

SLIDESHOW: 2019 Comedy Wildlife Competition Finalists

Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest was created by the Natural History Museum of London.

Sam Rowley/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Station squabble by Sam Rowley, UK