Wildlife Photographer of the Year - Behaviour, mammals
Audio description
Transcript
This is ‘A Tranquil Moment’ by Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod from Sri Lanka. This photograph was taken in Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka, and is the 2024 category winner of ‘Behaviour: Mammals’. The image in front of me right now is a tuck macaque that is completely asleep from relaxation, limply hanging from its mother's arms, or a member of its troop’s arms. The adults fur looked coarse to the touch, whereas the baby is hairless and naked, clinging to its family member for warmth as well as just out of comfort. There is a slight patch of skin that the baby's head is resting against, where it's been feeding on milk. The features of the adult that's holding the baby have been lost because the fur blurs into one which draws attention even more to this naked little baby in the middle of the frame. It's just very, very, very contented. A very well-fed little baby. Although the baby's skin looks like an older person's wrinkled, translucent skin. Its arm has dark, wispy hairs. The translucent skin has an interesting effect on its eyes. It almost gives it a very light, low key blue eyeshadow which sort of exaggerates its closed eyes.