It can’t be easy taking photos that illustrate just how hard-fought the battle against poaching is, but someone has to do it.

That man above is Brent Stirton, a South African-born photographer whose work often features in the likes of National Geographic Magazine, Le Monde, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times Magazine and others.

This time around we’re looking at the Natural History Museum of London’s ‘2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ competition, and it’s Brent that came out tops with an image that is pretty damn heartbreaking.

Given that it beat out more than 50 000 entries from 92 countries, it’s no surprise that “Memorial to a Species” packs a punch:

Right in the guts.

Gizmodo below:

At one point, black rhinos were the most numerous of the world’s rhino species, but they’re now endangered on account of poaching and the illegal international trade of rhino horn. This award-winning shot of a dead, dehorned black rhino captures the brutality and senselessness of poaching.

“To make such a tragic scene almost majestic in its sculptural power deserves the highest award. There is rawness, but there is also great poignancy and therefore dignity in the fallen giant,” noted competition judge Rox Kidman Cox in a statement. “It’s also symbolic of one of the most wasteful, cruel and unnecessary environmental crimes, one that needs to provoke the greatest public outcry.”

If that picture doesn’t get you a little worked up chances are you’re a terrible person.

Here are some winners from other, less depressing categories:

Winner, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017: “The Good Life” by Daniël Nelson, Netherlands

This portrait of a young western lowland gorilla was captured by Daniël Nelson in the Republic of Congo. The great ape can be seen lounging on the jungle floor while munching on some African breadfruit.

Winner of the “Animals in Their Environment” Category: “The Night Raider” by Marcio Cabral, Brazil

There’s a lot going on in this photo taken by Marcio Cabral in Brazil’s Cerrado region. Click beetle larvae embedded on the outer layers of the termite mounds are glowing in a bioluminiscent green, which they do to lure in their prey—flying termites. Meanwhile, a giant anteater is also going for the termites, sticking its snout and nose into the mound to reach the termites inside.

Winner of the “Black and White” Category: “Polar Pas de Deux” by Elio Elvinger, Luxembourg

When a mother polar bear and her two-year-old cub approached her ship, Elio Elvinger couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a photo. The animals were attracted to leakage from the ship’s kitchen as it was anchored off Svalbard in Arctic Norway. “I was ashamed of our contribution to the immaculate landscape,” she said, “and of how this influenced the bears’ behaviour.”

Gross – we really are an awful species, aren’t we?

You can see more of the competition’s winners over HERE.

[source:gizmodo]