#humpbackwhale

Winners of the 2021 World Nature Photography AwardsWe live in a beautiful world full of wholesome moments. But this world also has its share of terrifying moments and pictures, which remind us that the world can be dark. This image of a leopard seal trying to eat a Gentoo penguin is a great example. Amos Nachoum took this photo on a remote island off the Antarctic Peninsula during the low tide in the area.Nachoum's image, titled "Facing Reality" won the grand prize of The 2021 World Nature Photography Awards. Also handed to him was the World Nature Photographer of the Year title. Nachoum wrote:For hours, I waited for the low tide to arrive along a shallow lagoon on a remote island off the Antarctic Peninsula. Like clockwork, the leopard seal arrived in the lagoon just before low tide. It put its head in the water and looked just like a rock sitting in the receding water. The young Gentoo penguins only dare to enter the water when it is shallow and when they got close enough to the seal, it turned its head at lightning speed, catching one of the penguins by its feet and taking it to deep water. Once the seal reached open water, I followed it and swam parallel to it, observing its actions. To my surprise, it let go of the penguin twice. Each time, the seal chased after the penguin again, as if it was enjoying the game. The terrified penguin tried to escape as the game continued. But soon, the end came.As I said before, we live in a beautiful world, as shown by the other pictures submitted in the competition, like this picture of macaques enjoying each other's warmth.Here are some of the pictures from the 2021 World Nature Photography Awards. You may also submit photos to the website for this year's competition.Image: Amos Nachoum#Nature #Photography #Animals #WorldNaturePhotographyAwards #penguin #GentooPenguin #seal