Sleeping Beary: Nima Sarikhani-snapped photo of baby polar bear on ice makes history

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award went to British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani for his breathtaking picture of a baby polar bear drifting off to sleep on an iceberg.

"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, according to BBC.

"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."

After three days of searching through dense fog off Norway's Svalbard island for polar bears, Sarikhani took the picture.

Fans of nature and wildlife photography from all around the world were asked to select their favorite image from a short list of 25.

Four more exceptional competitors received "highly commended" status which are as follows:

While photographing shorebirds from his conceal, Tzahi Finkelstein happened to see a Balkan pond turtle meandering across the shallow water.

Unexpectedly, the dragonfly touched the turtle's nose.

Daniel Dencescu trailed the starlings for hours throughout Rome, Italy's suburbs and capital.

Ultimately, the murmuration took on the form of a massive bird on that clear winter's day.

In Kenya's Maasai Mara Mara, a pride of five pups spent the night hiding in thickets after two lionesses went hunting.

After their quest proved fruitless, they went back to the wide grassland and started grooming the cubs.

Shrouded in the aurora borealis, moon jellyfish swarmed in the cold autumn waters of a fjord in Tromsø, northern Norway. Audun Rikardsen utilised his own technique to alter the focus and aperture during a single exposure. He concealed his equipment in a homemade waterproof enclosure.