Wildlife photograph of the year

(Image: Ben Osborne) 

This photograph of an elephant at a watering hole, by Ben Osborne, has just been announced as the best overall photo in the 2007 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition.

"I staked out this waterhole in Botswana's Chobe National Park for three weeks," Osborne says, "taking pictures from my vehicle of thirsty elephants and other animals coming to drink. Sometimes the waterhole overflowed, and this huge bull was the first to indulge in a head-to-toe spa. I focused on the centre of the action, an explosion of texture and colour."

This, and the winning images from all the other categories, are now on display at the Natural History Museum in London. The museum's website has an online gallery of the winners.