This year’s environmental photography award from the Prince Albert II Foundation of Monaco includes distinguished images, including an arctic fox battling the wind, a flock of birds facing a snowstorm in the Himalayas, and a man and boy in a flooded living room.

The award, in its third edition, aims to emphasize the message of preserving nature. For his part, the head of the jury, Sergio Petamez, said in a press release: “Photography is a powerful tool to give a voice to threatened wildlife and biodiversity,” according to the website. CNN Arabic.

A man and a boy in a room flooded with water

The jury, consisting of 7 professional photographers, selected the winning photos for each category from a total of 10,000 photos belonging to 2,300 photographers who participated from all over the world.

A flock of birds encountering a snow storm

The picture of a disturbed elephant that was hit by a train won the grand prize

And the image of a disturbed elephant trying to defend itself after it was hit by a freight train in Lobi National Park in Gabon, in Central Africa, won the grand prize, which suffered an irreparable fracture, and after its death, the director of the park distributed its meat to the local community.

Elephants being transported between parks in Malawi

The image is a tragic reminder of the consequences of the increasing collision between humans and animals, due to the loss of natural habitats as a result of human activities such as agriculture and development, and photographer Jasper Dost from the Netherlands believes that the image “has the power to inspire change.”

“The elephant represents a threat to its entire species,” Betamiz, head of the jury, said. “Doost was able to act in a split second on this sudden event, documenting his story and giving a voice to forest elephants in Africa.”

Arctic fox facing the wind

In the “Change Makers… Reasons for Hope” category, one of the photos shows elephants being lifted by crane onto a truck and transported from Leondi National Park to Kasongo National Park in Malawi, southeast Africa. Although the idea seems strange, it is part of an initiative to preserve Healthy habitats in parks and establishment of stable and resilient elephant populations.

Another image shows a fake rhinoceros hunting scene at a wildlife genetics academy in South Africa, where rangers learn how to gather the vital forensic evidence necessary to convict the poachers in court.