Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Martyn Colbeck (United Kingdom)

Clash of the bulls

Martyn encountered these two huge bulls late one evening in Amboseli National Park and could tell immediately by their manoeuvring that they were sizing up and about to fight. He got ready for the inevitable, terrifying thud and clank of ivory, setting the camera at a low shutter speed to blur the action and create a sense of movement and power. The bull on the right has stopped momentarily, trying to prevent himself being twisted off his feet. If he had succumbed, he might have been fatally speared by the winner, but he managed in this instance to twist free and flee (the more common outcome of such fights). Serious fights between bull elephants are rare, and competing bulls are usually of similar size and in 'musth' - a period of heightened sexual activity and aggression in a male elephant's sexual cycle.

Canon EOS 1V with Canon EF 300mm f2.8 lens; 1/15 sec at f2.8; Ilford Delta 100; fluid-head tripod

This photograph is available to buy as a print.