NEW YORK, Oct 11, (Agencies): The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 competition has unveiled its striking winning images, capturing nature's beauty and the environmental challenges it faces.

French underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta clinched this year's grand title for his luminescent image of a horseshoe crab on the seafloor, accompanied by three golden trevally fish. It's the second time Ballesta has claimed the top prize, having won in 2021 with a photograph of camouflage groupers in a cloud of eggs and sperm.

Chair of the jury and editor, Kathy Moran, described Ballesta's winning image as astonishing, showcasing the vibrant life of a horseshoe crab in its natural habitat. Despite being older than dinosaurs, this species is now endangered due to habitat destruction and overfishing, as their blue blood is valuable in vaccine development.

The competition also highlighted threats to wildlife from human activity. One photo displayed deforested land in Mexico making way for a tourist railway line, while another showed the heavily polluted Ciliwungriver winding through Jakarta, Indonesia.

In some instances, wildlife was depicted adapting to a human environment. Seventeen-year-old Israeli photographer Carmel Bechler received the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for his image of two barn owls in an abandoned roadside building. Bechler's use of natural light and long exposure times captured the passing traffic, emphasizing the beauty of nature even in unexpected places.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year, organized by the Natural History Museum of London in its 59th year, received almost 50,000 entries from 95 countries. The competition aims to inspire people to care for and protect the natural world by showcasing the diversity of life on Earth.

The winning images will be exhibited at the museum and toured internationally, accompanied by videos demonstrating the impact of wildlife photography and promoting actions visitors can take to safeguard the planet.

Doug Gurr, the director of the Natural History Museum, stressed that this year's winning images present compelling evidence of humanity's impact on nature, both positive and negative. He urged global promises to translate into actions that can reverse the decline of the natural world.