Congratulations to Mike Korostelev who won European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 for “Hippo World!”, a shot an underwater hippo family in South Africa:
A few years ago in South Africa I discovered a salt lake with clear water, where several hippo families (Hippopotamus amphibius) lived. It was then that I had the idea which I was going to put into practice this year. The use of an underwater drone enabled me to observe and photograph a family of nine hippos. The drone is very quiet, but nevertheless I operated the device with great care among the animals so as not to disturb them. After a few days the hippos had become completely accustomed to the new inhabitant of the lake and I was able to study their behaviour on the screen.
Hippo related: how hippos can tell who they’re talking to by their “wheeze honks”, 10 famous hippo characters, and Tam Tam: the cutest baby pygmy hippo in Japan