Two adult male lions embrace each other with a forehead contact in the stunning photograph dubbed “Bond of Brothers.”
The duo, most likely brothers, met one other and massaged their noses for 30 seconds before settling down, according to New Zealand photographer David Lloyd.
The photograph was taken in Ndutu, Tanzania’s Serengeti, and it was awarded the LUMIX People’s Choice Award at the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year honors in 2018.
“I’m really glad that this image did well since it displays the emotion and feeling of animals and highlights that this is not confined to people,” Lloyd says of the photograph.
“I believe that more people should be aware of it for the welfare of all animals.”
Here are four more photographs from the same competition that stand out:
Bence Mate of Hungary took the photograph ‘One Toy, Three Canines,’ which depicts three exceptionally charming African wild dogs.
One of the most somber photographs in the competition is titled ‘A Polar Bear’s Struggle’ and was captured by Justin Hofman of the United States.
The image depicts a starving polar bear at an abandoned hunter’s camp in the Canadian Arctic, where the bear is unable to locate food due to a lack of ice.
The photograph, titled ‘Three Kings,’ was shot by Wim Van Den Heever of South Africa and depicts a trio of Emporer penguins looking to the dawn.
In an interesting mating ritual, the two males moved around the female while using their flippers to fight each other off.
The photograph, titled ‘Fox Meets Fox,’ was shot by Matthew Maran in the United Kingdom and depicts a wild fox coming across a fox painting on the street.
Since discovering the graffiti art a few years ago, he’s always wanted to capture this photo. His perseverance has paid off after numerous hours and futile tries.
