UK photographer wins prestigious award for capturing sleeping polar bear

A stunning image of a sleeping polar bear, titled "Ice Bed," by amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, Sky News reported.

The UK national captured the image off Norway's Svalbard archipelago after spending three days "desperately searching" for the animal through thick fog.

"Sarikhani's breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet," Natural History Museum director Dr Douglas Gurr said.

"His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss."

The picture, titled "Ice Bed," has been crowned the winner of the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year people's choice award after being whittled down to a shortlist of 25 from almost 50,000 entries from around the world.

More than 75,000 people cast their votes this year.

Four other remarkable photographs were highly commended and will be displayed alongside Ice Bed online and in the accompanying exhibition at the Natural History Museum in West London until the end of June.

The Happy Turtle by Tzahi Finkelstein, from Israel

Shared Parenting by Mark Boyd, from Kenya

Starling Murmuration by Daniel Dencescu, from Germany

Aurora Jellies, by Audun Rikardsen, from Norway