Aerial view of sharks hunting as a group wins science photography top prize

06 December, 2024

The Royal Society, a scientific academy and fellowship of scientists around the world, announced the winner of this year’s photography competition among scientists. A scenic photograph of sharks hunting in the Maldives’ shallow waters has won the top prize in this year’s Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition. The image, which shows four young sharks in pursuit of silverside fish, was captured by Angela Albi, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, with help from drone pilot August Paula.

The captivating beauty and raw power of the Maldives’ marine life take centre stage in the winning image of this year’s Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition. The image, which shows four young sharks in pursuit of silverside fish, was captured by Angela Albi, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour, with help from drone pilot August Paula

Albi studies interactions between blacktip reef sharks and baitfish schools, using drones to capture these interactions from above.

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"One of the main reasons animals group together is to avoid predators. In this case, a large school of hardyhead silversides faces four juvenile blacktip reef sharks, which occasionally attack, causing the fish to respond collectively," Albi said. "Blacktip reef sharks are a social species and as juveniles, they often gather in schools of fish near the shore in the Maldives, where they circle within the school."

“Just after sunrise or before sundown, the shallow waters of the Maldives transform into a clear, see-through surface,” Albi noted in a Royal Society press release. “These are also the moments when we best observe the interactions between reef sharks and their prey.”

“From the photographers’ bird’s-eye perspective, the raw instincts of nature come alive, as the school of fish move in almost perfect synchrony then split to avoid the sharks,” said Hugh Turvey, a member of this year’s judging panel.

This year, the Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition featured five diverse categories: Astronomy, behaviour, earth science and climatology, ecology and environmental science, and microimaging. Angela Albi’s powerful photograph of young sharks chasing silverside fish in the Maldives won the Behavior category and was awarded the grand prize for its compelling portrayal of survival instincts at play in the natural world.

Renowned for its crystal-clear waters, pristine beaches, and vibrant marine ecosystems, the Maldives remains a photographer’s paradise. This year, it was once again crowned the World’s Leading Destination at the 2024 World Travel Awards (WTA), marking an historic milestone and further cementing its position as a premier global tourism icon.

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