CATEGORY WINNER MAMMALS
Sascha Fonseca | The World is Mine

Name: Sascha Fonseca
Picture title:The World is Mine
Category: Mammals
Nationality: Born in Germany and currently living in the United Arab Emirates (the UAE)
Occupation: Part-time photographer

Technical information
Camera: Canon EOS 5DS
Lens: Canon EF 24mm f/2.8
EXIF: 1/200 sec at f/8, ISO 100
Accessories: Self-made housings, Nikon SB28 flash, Camtraptions PIR, and wireless triggers

Sascha Fonseca:

A strikingly beautiful Snow leopard roams across the jagged peaks of the Ladakh mountain range in India. Thick snow blankets the ground, but the big cat’s dense coat and furry footpads keep it warm. I captured this spectacular image during a three-year DSLR camera trap project in the high-altitude region of Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas bordering Pakistan and China. Challenges were many: The steep, rugged terrain with low oxygen levels, finding locations, getting the equipment up, and maintaining it over long periods of time. The mystery surrounding the Snow leopard always fascinated me. These rarely-sighted, wise-looking cats are since centuries the stuff of legends and fairytales. Their incredible stealth and camouflage and the remote environment they live in, probably make the ‘ghost of the mountains’ the most challenging big cat to photograph in the wild. Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species researchers estimate that there are between 400 to 700 snow leopards in India today. Habitat loss, poaching, and retaliatory killings as a result of human-wildlife conflict are the biggest threats that these magnificent cats face. Snow leopard habitat range continues to decline from human settlement and increased use of grazing space.

My imagery is to make people connect to wildlife and appreciate the often unseen natural world. I believe that greater understanding leads to deeper caring which hopefully results in active support and as a multiplier for conservation efforts.