Winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award

Ice Bed: Stunning image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award - Natural History Museum

‘Ice Bed,’ Nima Sarikhani’s dreamy image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep on a bed carved into an iceberg, has been voted as the winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.

The 25 images in the running for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award received a record number of votes with over 75,000 wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world casting their votes to name British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani this year’s winner.

Director of the Natural History Museum, Dr Douglas Gurr, says: ‘Nima’s breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet. His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss.’

After three days searching for polar bears through thick fog off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, the expedition vessel Nima was on decided to change course and headed towards where there was still some sea ice. Here they encountered two polar bears. Just before midnight, the young male clambered onto a small iceberg and, using his strong paws, clawed away at it to carve out a bed for himself. Nima captured the dreamlike moment the young bear drifted off to sleep.

Nima says: 'I am so honoured to have won this year's People’s Choice award for WPY, the most prestigious wildlife photography competition. This photograph has stirred strong emotions in many of those who have seen it. Whilst climate change is the biggest challenge we face, I hope that this photograph also inspires hope; there is still time to fix the mess we have caused.'