It will see South African photographers bring home the lion’s share of the awards in the various categories. Notably, Greg du Toit won the overall prize with his photograph titled ‘Essence of Elephants’ which featured in ‘Animal Portraits’. Isak Pretorius was the winner of the ‘Behaviour: Birds’ category with ‘Sticky Situation’ and Brent Stirton won the highly acclaimed Wildlife Photojournalist Award.

The competition received 43 000 entries, from amateurs and professionals alike, from 96 different countries. The photographs are selected through a rigorous selection process, adjudicated by a panel of international specialists in the field, finally narrowing it down to the best entries based on creativity, artistry and technical complexity. “These talented photographers have made capturing wildlife on camera a true art form,” says Jim Brandenburg, chair of the panel.

Africa Director of National Geographic Channels, Thandi Davids, says, “National Geographic Channels International is pleased to be part of this initiative for a second year running. Throughout our history National Geographic Channels, via its explorers, has been renowned for its contributions to the preservation of wildlife. This fact has been one of the driving forces in our continued support for this exhibition. We’re even more excited about bringing the experience to Gauteng as well this year, which will generate further engagement by the broader public.”

“It is a great privilege for DITSONG Museums of South Africa, in particular the DITSONG: National Museum of Natural History to host this world-class exhibition showcasing unparalleled photographic excellence of natural history. This is the first time the exhibition will be hosted in Gauteng, which is made even more exciting by the fact that the overall winner of the exhibition, Greg Du Toit is from Pretoria,” says DITSONG: Museums of South Africa CEO, Makgolo Makgolo.

Licensed in South Africa by NHU Africa, the exhibition displays an array of wildlife photography and breath taking images of our world that very few have ever had the privilege of witnessing.

“We are honoured to again to be partnering with National Geographic Channels International and this year we have also formed an exciting partnership with the DITSONG: Museum of South Africa. Through the wildlife stories captured in these images and by the photographers behind the lenses, we hope that the public will learn more about both the beauty and harshness of our natural environment,” says Donfrey Meyer, head of NHU Africa.

Running from Tuesday, 2 April to Monday, 30 June at the DISTONG: National Museum of Natural History in Pretoria, the display forms part of a worldwide tour co-owned by the Natural History Museum (NHM) LONDON and BBC Worldwide.