Indian conservation photographer Nayan Khanolkar has been named wildlife photographer of the year in the urban wildlife category by the Natural History Museum, London, along with the BBC. The committee selected Khanolkar's photograph "The Alley Cat', which features a leopard in Mumbai, for highlighting how human beings and the big cats co-exist in the suburban Aarey milk colony.
Khanolkar took four months to get the perfect shot, which he managed with a camera trap. Khanolkar said he was trying to depict how the Warli people of the suburb have learned to respect their leopard neighbour. He said leopards are an accepted "part of their lives and culture."
The photographer works as a Research Fellow with the Bombay Natural History Society. He is currently focused on photographing big cats in urban areas to raise awareness about conserving India's rich wildlife heritage.
The 52nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition had around 50,000 entries from 95 countries. The overall winner was Tim Laman from the United States. He photographed an endangered Bornean orangutan in a rainforest canopy in Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.
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