Robert Irwin, son of famous wildlife Australian zookeeper and wildlife expert Steve Irwin, has made his family proud after earning the first prize in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award contest. The son of the conservationist clicked the picture of the devastating Australian Bushfire and was nominated for the same last year.
Titled Bushfire, the image is a drone capture that shows a line of fire burning in between the bushes, dividing it into two parts. Robert clicked this image near the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York, Queensland.
Back in October 2020, Robert requested netizens to vote for his click to help him won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.
The photograph was declared the winner, ahead of 24 other entries in the same category. As explained on the official website, the area is of high conservation significance as it is home to over 30 different ecosystems that include the habitat of many endangered species. As popularly known, Australian Bushfires are a serious threat to the diversity of the mainland. The natural fires devastate the homes of several species and leave others endangered. The Australian Bushfire in the summer of 2019 and 2020 claimed hundreds of lives, destroyed thousands of homes and burned more than 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of land.
You can view all the entries from the competition here on the direct link for The People's Choice Award Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
According to Mashable, Robert, after winning the award, mentioned, “I feel it is particularly special for this image to be awarded, not only as a profound personal honour but also as a reminder of our effect on the natural world and our responsibility to care for it.”
The contest for wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards is conducted every year by the Natural History Museum, London.