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David Pattyn's Image
Every day, David set out to find the lone male ibex that had arrived in the valley. This time he spotted it sheltering on a precipitous ledge, beneath an overhang. With quiet endurance, the ibex almost disappeared against the fabric of metamorphic rock, save for the snow on its back and head, and its eye, glimpsed between the flakes.
Stately in its thick winter coat, with imposing backward-curved horns, the Alpine ibex is emblematic of Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park. Threatened with extinction more than 100 years ago, ibex have returned across Europe, thanks to conservation efforts. Recent data, however, suggest numbers are going down again, and we don’t yet know why.
Behind the lens
David Pattyn
Belgium/the Netherlands
David has always had a passion for wildlife and often travels with his wife and two sons in search of it. As a photographer he mainly focuses on subjects for long periods, as he believes this results in better images. In the past he has completed projects on grebes, pelicans and, in recent years, the Alps.
Image details
- Canon EOS-1D X
- 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 176mm
- 1/320 sec at f6.3
- Valsavarenche, Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy
Copyright in WPY competition photographs remains the property of the respective photographers. You may not copy, share, reproduce or republish the photographs except as expressly permitted by copyright law. For media image usage enquiries, please contact us.
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