A striking image of a badger appearing to admire a graffiti version of itself has won the Natural History Museum’s 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. Captured by British photographer Ian Wood on a quiet road in St Leonards-on-Sea, England, the image was selected from a shortlist of 25, drawing a record-breaking 76,000 votes from wildlife and photography enthusiasts worldwide.
Wood, who spent nearly two years photographing badgers in the area, devised the creative shot by incorporating street art into the scene. “I thought it’d be fun to put the graffiti there and see if I could get a badger walking underneath it,” he told BBC.
Beyond its visual appeal, the image carries a deeper message. Wood, a vocal critic of badger culling, sees the photo as a symbol of the controversial practice, which has been used to curb bovine tuberculosis but is set to be phased out in England over the next five years. “I would swap this award immediately for the government to rescind all existing badger culling licenses,” he stated.
In addition to Wood’s winning image, four other finalists were highly commended. Among them is a dramatic scene of a honey badger battling a Cape porcupine in Botswana, a stoat seamlessly blending into snowy terrain in Belgium, a barn owl emerging from an old barn near Vancouver, and a fiery display of Chile’s Villarrica volcano illuminating the night sky.
All five images will be showcased at the Natural History Museum in London until 29 June.
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