Wildlife Photographer of the Year: View the winning shot of a snow leopard

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award went to a German photographer for a photograph of the elusive "ghost of the mountains."

Thousands of voters selected Sascha Fonseca's photograph of a snow leopard posing against the Indian Himalayas as the winner out of 25 finalist photographs.

This year, 60,466 voters participated in the competition organised by the Natural History Museum in London.

Among the 38,575 entries from 93 countries, the winning photographs were monkeys cuddling, a statuesque lion, and a bewildered spider.

With an estimated 6,500 adult snow leopards in the wild, it is difficult to capture this well-camouflaged, secretive species in their distant habitats, the museum noted. The winning photograph this year was captured in Ladakhin, India.

Fonseca's photograph of the leopard, a species threatened by poaching, habitat destruction, and human-animal conflict, was obtained with a bait-free camera trap positioned for three years in the Indian Himalayas, where animal motions trigger a hidden digital camera.

Fonseca stated, "Photography can connect people with nature and inspire them to appreciate the beauty of the invisible natural world."

"I feel that a better appreciation for wildlife arises from a greater understanding of it, which will ideally result in greater public support and interest in conservation."

In a statement announcing the winners, Douglas Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, stated that Fonseca's photograph "reminds us of our common obligation to conserve" these endangered animals and the Earth.