Hidden camera's hugging tiger wins wildlife photo award

 To photograph one of rarest creatures on Earth you have to be incredibly skilled and remarkably lucky.

But Sergey Gorshkov is clearly both - as demonstrated by his stunning picture of a Siberian, or Amur, tiger deep in the forests of Russia's Far East.

The image has just won him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

The female tiger is seen embracing a tree, rubbing herself against the bark to leave her scent and mark territory in Land of the Leopard National Park.

Sergey Gorshkov's winning WPY image is called The Embrace. SERGEY GORSHKOV/WPY2020

"The lighting, the colours, the texture - it's like an oil painting," says WPY chair of judges Roz Kidman-Cox.

"It's almost as if the tiger is part of the forest. Her tail blends with the roots of the tree. The two are one," she told BBC News.

All the more extraordinary is that this is a camera-trap image. The equipment was set up in the forest and left, waiting to trigger automatically when a tiger came by.

Of course, Sergey had to know where he'd be most likely to frame the animal - and that's where the skill of an experienced wildlife photographer comes into play.

Eastern Russia's tigers were hunted to near-extinction and probably now number only a few hundred individuals. And with their prey - mostly deer and wild boar - also diminished, it means the Amurs must range over vast distances to find food.

It all adds to the difficulty of securing any sort of picture, never mind one that looks as impressive as Sergey's. But consider this: the camera-trap that took the winning picture was left in the field for 10 months before its memory card with its precious image file was recovered.

To be a top wildlife photographer you also have to be extremely patient.

Sergey's grand prize award was announced by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge and TV presenters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin during an online event organised by London's Natural History Museum.

The NHM runs the WPY competition, which is now in its 56th year.

The fox that got the goose by Liina Heikkinen, Finland

This image of a young fox consuming a barnacle goose earned Finnish teenager Liina not only a win in the category for 15-17 yearolds, but the overall grand prize for junior photographers. The fox had forced itself into a crevice to try to stop its siblings getting at the meal.

"The judges particularly liked it because only a really keen young naturalist would have been able to get such a picture," explained Roz Kidmand-Cox. "The composition is wonderful. Liina must have been lying on the ground because she's eye to eye with that young fox."

The pose by Mogens Trolle, Denmark

A young male proboscis monkey in profile. It is the WPY Animal Portraits winner this year. The picture was taken at the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in Sabah, Borneo. That splendid nose will get even bigger as the young primate matures. It'll give his calls a bigger sound, and it will probably come to signal his status in the group.

Etna's river of fire by Luciano Gaudenzio, Italy

WPY isn't only about animals. This image taken on the north side of Europe's most active volcano won the Earth's Environments category. Luciano Gaudenzio had to brave heat and stinking steam to get close to his subject. He described the scene as hypnotic, the vent resembling "an open wound on the rough and wrinkled skin of a huge dinosaur".

Life in the balance by Jaime Culebras, Spain

This glass frog snacking on a spider is the winner in the WPY category for Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles. Jaime took this picture in Ecuador's Manduriacu Reserve - during a torrential downpour. He had to hold an umbrella and flash in one hand while operating the camera in the other.

A tale of two wasps by Frank Deschandol, France

A specially built, superfast shutter system was needed to frame and freeze these two wasps in Normandy, northern France. The red-banded sand wasp (left) and the cuckoo wasp are about to enter next-door nest holes. Frank Deschandol wins the Behaviour: Invertebrates category.

The golden moment by Songda Cai, China

The Under Water category winner for 2020. This is a tiny diamondback squid. It's a paralarva - meaning it's beyond a hatchling but not quite a subadult. Songda took this on a night dive off the coast of Anilao, in the Philippines. The animal is about 6-7cm in length.

When mother says run by Shanyuan Li, China

These are young Pallas's cats, or manuls, which are found on the remote steppes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwest China. Shanyuan captured this image of the playful kittens after six years of tracking and studying the animals. The picture wins the Behaviour: Mammals category.

 The territory is huge and the tigers will travel hundreds of km to find prey. Below: Sergey Gorshkov preparing his camera traps ready to deploy in Leopard National Park. SERGEY GORSHKOV

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards are normally presented during a gala dinner at the NHM in South Kensington.

But, as with so many events in the era of Covid, organisers had no choice but to go virtual this time. The highly popular exhibition will proceed as normal, however. It opens on Friday, but is ticket only. Booking is essential.

Entries for next year's awards start being accepted on Monday.

(Source: BBC)

Coronavirus: Tiger at Bronx Zoo tests positive for Covid-19

A four-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for the coronavirus.

The tiger, named Nadia, is believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with Covid-19 in the US.

The Bronx Zoo, in New York City, says the test result was confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.

Nadia, along with six other big cats, is thought to have been infected by an asymptomatic zoo keeper.

The cats started showing symptoms, including a dry cough, late last month after exposure to the employee, who has not been identified.

"This is the first time that any of us know of anywhere in the world that a person infected the animal and the animal got sick," Paul Calle, the chief veterinarian at the zoo, told Reuters news agency on Sunday.

One of the Bronx Zoo's Malayan tigers. Getty Images

There have been isolated instances of pets testing positive for the coronavirus elsewhere in the world, but experts have stressed there is no evidence they can become sick or spread the disease.

Mr Calle said he intends to share the findings with other zoos and institutions researching the transmission of Covid-19.

"We tested the cat [Nadia] out of an abundance of caution and will ensure any knowledge we gain about Covid-19 will contribute to the world's continuing understanding of this novel coronavirus," the zoo said in a statement.

Nadia, her sister Azul, as well as two Amur tigers and three African lions who showed symptoms, are all expected to make a full recovery, the zoo said.

The big cats did have some decrease in appetite but "are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers", it said.

The zoo said it is not known how the virus will develop in animals like tigers and lions since various species can react differently to new infections, but all the animals will be closely monitored.

None of the zoo's other big cats are showing any signs of illness. All the tigers showing symptoms were housed in the zoo's Tiger Mountain area. It is unclear if the others will be tested.

All four zoos run by the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City, including the Bronx Zoo, have been closed to the public since 16 March. New measures will now be put in place to protect the animals and their caretakers at all the facilities.

What do we know about animals and the virus?

This coronavirus was first detected in humans in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

The coronavirus (called Sars-CoV-2, which causes the disease Covid-19) is thought to have originated in wildlife and been passed to humans via a live animal market in Wuhan.

The pandemic has been driven by human-to-human transmission, but the infection of Nadia raises new questions about human-to-animal transmission.

There have been less than a handful of isolated reports of companion animals testing positive for coronavirus, including two dogs in Hong Kong.

There is "no evidence that any person has been infected with Covid-19 in the US by animals, including by pet dogs or cats," the zoo's statement noted.

The new virus is part of the coronavirus family, which includes the common cold, Sars and Mers. Getty Images

That is also the view of the World Organisation for Animal Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), which says there is no evidence that pet dogs or cats can pass on the coronavirus.

The World Organisation for Animal Health says studies are under way to understand the issue more. and urges anyone who has become sick to limit contact with pets.

Dr Sarah Caddy, Veterinarian and Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, is among experts to respond to the reports.

"It is surprising that the tiger has become infected with what must have been a fairly low dose of virus - we can assume the tiger did not have continual close contact with the asymptomatic zoo keeper," she said about the transmission.

"It is also interesting that the tiger showed clinical signs consistent with Covid-19 in humans. Although scientific proof is lacking, the chance this is just a coincidence is low."

Conservation experts have warned that the virus could pose a threat to some wildlife like the great apes - and have said measures are needed to reduce the risk of wild gorillas, chimps and orangutans.

(Source: BBC)

Rajinikanth in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, to feature in ‘Man vs Wild’ with Bear Grylls

Speaking to The New Indian Express, a senior forest department official said permission for the shooting has been given for six hours in a day for January 28 and 30 with a special guest each day.

Popular movie star Rajinikanth is now busy and so is Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The actor and a team of documentary makers from the popular international series Man Vs Wild are in the tiger reserve to shoot the documentary since Monday evening. The shooting is scheduled for six hours on Tuesday and again on Thursday.

After PM Modi, Rajinikanth to shoot ‘Man vs Wild’ with Bear Grylls. (Photo | PTI)

The series caught Indian attention after Prime Minister Narendra Modi shot for the series in the forests of northern India with British adventurer Bear Grylls.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, a senior forest department official said permission for the shooting has been given for six hours in a day for January 28 and 30 with a special guest each day. On Tuesday it is with Rajanikanth and on 30th noted Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is also expected.

"Permission for the shooting has been given for Sultan Batteri highway and ranges of Mulleholle, Maddur and Kalkere ranges. They will be shooting in the non-tourism zones. If permission to was given to Wild Karnataka shooting, then this is also permitted and besides chief wildlife warden has given permission. Also, no tourism or regular forest patrolling and fire line creation activities will be affected. The shooting Wil be done under special forest protection and no one will be aware of the locations," the official said.

The permission for the shooting of films and documentaries inside forest areas of Karnataka is only increasing, the department must exercise caution, this will only lead to more man-animal conflict, said, conservationists. 

(Source: TNIE)

Thailand Tiger Temple: More than half have died since rescue

More than half of the 147 tigers that were rescued from a controversial Thai Buddhist temple just three years ago have died, officials have said.

A total of 86 tigers have died since they were moved from the Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple, a tourist attraction known as Tiger Temple, in 2016.

Thailand's park service said many had died of a virus, having been weakened by the stress of relocation.

Officials also blamed genetic problems linked to inbreeding among the group.

But conservationists have questioned whether authorities were holding the tigers in safe conditions.

The temple's monks, meanwhile, have denied accusations of animal abuse, trafficking and illegal breeding while the tigers were under their care.

The temple has been closed to the public since 2016.

What happened to the tigers?
Since police raids in 2016, the tigers have been held at two breeding stations in nearby Ratchaburi province as it is believed they would have little chance of survival in the wild.

But only 61 of the original 147 have survived in captivity. Thai authorities said some fell ill with Canine Distemper Virus or CDV. Many had difficulty breathing or eating, and died as a result.

Tiger Temple attracted thousands of tourists before it was closed to the public 2016

Speaking with Reuters news agency, temple caretaker Athithat Srimanee denied the accusations that the tigers died because of inbreeding. He said the government was playing a "blame game".

Edwin Wiek, founder of the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT), told the BBC that the big cats were being kept in small, cramped cages, making it easy for disease to spread.

He added that Canine Distemper is treatable with proper food and supplements, access to clean water, and enough space to move around. But a limited government budget made this impossible.

"To be very honest, who would be ready to take in so many tigers at once?" said Mr Wiek. "The authorities should have asked for help from outside, but instead insisted on doing all work themselves."

A lucrative trade
Analysis by Jonathan Head, BBC South-East Asia correspondent

The deaths of so many tigers in two government facilities has refocused attention on the challenges of managing an ever-expanding population of captive tigers, not just in Thailand, but in neighbouring countries like Laos and China.

Despite pledges by both Thailand and Laos to reduce the numbers of tigers held in captivity on so-called "tiger farms", the populations have continued to rise.

There are now around 2,000 captive tigers in Thailand. Many are held by private individuals, not state institutions.

Captive tigers are a lucrative business, popular in particular with Chinese tourists who now make up nearly one third of foreign visitors in Thailand.

They breed easily, and there is always a suspicion that some are diverted into the illegal trade in tiger parts, which then encourages the poaching of South East Asia's dwindling population of wild tigers.

Wildlife campaigners say state institutions in Thailand need better funding to start taking custody of these privately owned tigers, and the tiger industry should be regulated more strictly.

What is the Tiger Temple?
The attraction, run by Buddhist monks, was located in Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province, west of Bangkok.

At its height, visitors were charged 600 Thai Baht ($16, £11) for entry, with additional costs to pet, feed, or take pictures with the tigers.

The bodies of 40 tiger cubs were found in a freezer in the temple's kitchen

A National Geographic report alleged that the monks were operating a for-profit breeding business.

The WFFT also alleged there was evidence that wildlife trafficking took place, but has not provided specific examples.

In December 2014, authorities were alerted after three adult male tigers vanished from the temple. They had been micro-chipped, a legal requirement for captive endangered animals in Thailand, which allows them to be tracked.

The temple's veterinarian Somchai Visasmongkolchai later came forward after resigning from his post and said the microchips had been cut out of the three males.

When police raided the site in 2016, 40 dead tiger cubs were found in the temple's kitchen freezer, along with other animal body parts.

(Source: BBC)