From 28 May to 3 October, the Fortress of Bard will be the first Italian venue for the 56th Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, the world’s most prestigious nature photography contest, run by London’s Natural History Museum. The stunning images on display were selected by an international panel of eminent experts and wildlife photographers from over 49,000 shots submitted by photographers from all over the world.

The winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 award is Russian photographer Sergey Gorshkov with his photo entitled The Embrace. The image depicts a Siberian tiger, a highly endangered species, embracing an ancient Manchurian fir to mark his territory. It took the photographer over ten months to get this shot obtained by using motion sensor cameras.

The young Finnish photographer Liina Heikkinen is the winner of the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 award, with her shot The Fox That Got the Goose. The image, taken on one of Helsinki’s islands, depicts a young red fox (Vulpes vulpes) fiercely defending the remains of a goose from its five rival siblings.

There were also two Italians among the winners: the photographer Luciano Gaudenzio in the Earth’s Environments category, and the young photographer Alberto Fantoni, winner of the Rising Star Portfolio Award. Five other Italian photographers received special mentions, as part of the competition’s hundred finalists: Domenico Tripodi (Under Water category), Alessandro Gruzza (Earth’s Environments), Andrea Pozzi (Plants and Fungi), Andrea Zampatti and Lorenzo Shoubridge (Animals in their Environment).