Staffan Widstrand was today announced Winner of the ARKive United Arab Emirates Wildlife Photography Competition. Staffan Widstrand was today announced Winner of the ARKive United Arab Emirates Wildlife Photography Competition.
The winning image shows two endangered Arabian Oryx antelope males in the desert sands, with their long sabre-like horns engaged in a breeding season battle.
The Award will be forwarded by Sir David Attenborough.
The Arabian Oryx, also called the Al Maha, is a very symbolic animal species in Arabia, and was at one stage totally extinct in the wild, but thanks to huge efforts over several decades, captive breeding- and re-introduction programmes, combined with strict conservation measures, this heraldic antelope species is now coming back on stage again in the wild in the Arab world. A huge conservation success story.
Widstrand also had three more images awarded in the same competition – of a Saker falcon, a Sand Fish skink lizard and a scene with Arabian mountain gazelles in the dunes.
This means 4 Widstrand shots out of a total of 9 awarded images in the competition.
The competition was arranged by Wildscreen/ARKive in the UK.
