Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015: Haunting image of red fox hunting Arctic fox triumphs

Canadian photographer Don Gutoski impressed judges with his grimly beautiful composition

Don Gutoski wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year with 'A Tale of Two Foxes' (Don Gutoski)

A grim yet striking image of a red fox preying on an Arctic fox has won the prestigious title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

“A Tale of Two Foxes” by Canadian physician Don Gutoski impressed a panel of professional judges with its haunting story of the battle for survival in Cape Churchill.

“The Churchill guides had heard that the two species will occasionally fight, but no one we talked to had ever seen this behaviour,” Gutoski said. “I first noticed the red fox hunting and interacting with some prey and on closer approach realised that prey was a white Arctic fox.

“By the time I got close enough to capture the event, the fight was over and the victor was feeding. I took a number of pictures of the event, until the red fox had eaten its fill, and picked up the remains to find a hiding spot for a later meal.”

Other winners from a range of 18 sub-categories were also announced at the ceremony, held at London's Natural History Museum on Wednesday night.

Fourteen-year-old Ondrej Pelánek from the Czech Republic was named Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his dramatic “Fighting Ruffs” photograph, which he snapped in Norway at midnight while his father was sleeping.


 'Ruffs on Display' by Ondrej Pelánek
 (Ondrej Pelánek)

Amphibians and Reptiles, Under Water, From the Sky, Impressions and Urban were among the other categories in competition.

'Still Life' by Edwin Giesbers wins the Amphibians and Reptiles category (Edwin Giesbers)

'Life Comes to Art' by Juan Tapia wins the Impressions category (Juan Tapia)

'The Art of Algae' by Pere Soler wins the From the Sky category (Pere Soler)

'Shadow Walker' by Richard Peters wins the Urban category (Richard Peters)

'A Whale of a Mouthful' by Michael AW wins the Under Water category (Michael AW)

'The Company of Three' by Amir Ben-Dov wins the Birds category (Amir Ben-Dov)

'Broken Cats' by Britta Jaschinski wins the Wildlife Photojournalist Single Image Award (Britta Jaschinski)

'Flight of the Scarlet Ibis' by Jonathan Jagot wins the 15-17 Young Wildlife Photographers Award (Jonathan Jagot)

More than 42,000 entries were submitted from 96 countries, with the winning and shortlisted images displayed at an exhibition opening on 16 October.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is open for 2016 entries from this December until next February.