The organizers of the Big Picture Competition have announced the winning images for the 2022 competition. An image showing dozens of colorful sea stars devouring a dead sea lion in the shallow waters of Monterey Bay, California;

Competition prize in the marine life category.

great meal

In the background of the photo - taken by wildlife photographer David Slater - a number of sea lions swimming in the shallow waters of the Gulf.

The sea lions captured in the photo are believed to be in the California sea lions or Steller sea lions, depending on the geographic range of these two species.

On the other hand, the devouring animals of the sea lion belong to the "star bat" - also known as the "sea bat" - a family of sea stars that are distinguished by their wonderful and varied colors.

The star bat plays a key role in recycling the sea lion into energy and nutrients for the marine food web.

The bat star has light-sensitive eye spots at the end of each of its arms (Wikipedia)

It is called the "bat star" by this name due to the presence of a network connecting its arms, which resembles the wings of a bat.

Usually starfish have 5 arms, and sometimes their number may reach 9. These animals grow up to 20 centimeters in length.

Many colors of starfish are documented, such as red, orange, yellow, brown, green, and purple.

The 'bat star' has light-sensitive eye spots at the end of each of its arms.

The olfactory cells on the lower arm enable them to taste chemicals left by small invertebrates or carrion in the water.

Once bat stars find their food, they push one of their stomachs through their mouths and release digestive "enzymes" that break down the meal before eating it.

symbiotic relationship

There is also a symbiotic relationship between sea stars and small types of worms that live in the grooves on the undersides of sea stars' bodies.

These worms feed on the crumbs left by starfish.

A single star bat can host up to 20 of these worms.

Hence, the captured image may contain more than 100 worms that are also digesting parts of a sea lion.

According to the report published by Science Alert, this shot won the best picture award in the "Marine Life" category in this competition organized by the California Academy of Sciences.

Slater commented on his winning of this award - on Instagram - saying, "Words cannot describe the feeling of winning first place in this prestigious competition. The photo shows that finding beauty and adventure can be found in unexpected places."

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The cause of the death of the sea lion is not known, it may be natural or due to human factors.

It is reassuring, however, that the sea lion's numbers are increasing, which has made it classified among the "least endangered species".

bee dance

In turn, photojournalist Karen Aigner captured a stunning photo that won the grand prize in this competition.

The captured image shows a number of bees swarming together as a ball in order to mate.

Every male is keen to win a female.

Individual bees swarming together as a ball to mate (Karen Aigner)

The bees pictured here belong to the species Diadasia rinconis, a unique species of bee that does not follow the hierarchy typical of the bee kingdom.

Despite this, this species still fulfills its function of pollinating cacti and helping plants of the American Southwest to bloom and flower.

A wonderful collection of nature moments

Hungarian Pence Mate's photo of an endangered beaver standing next to a spider weaving its webs on the limbs of a broken tree won the prize in the terrestrial wildlife category.

An image of a bat flying majestically towards an apple tree won the prize in the Winged Life category.

This photo was taken by Indian wildlife photographer Sitaram Raul.

In the Landscapes, Aquatic and Plants category, photographer Tom St. George's photo, which shows the natural beauty of Mexico's underwater cave systems, won.

This otherworldly cavern on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula brims with life, including many endemic species.

Underground cave life faces many threats, but local communities are advocating for their protection.

/ đź“· Tom St George (2022 Landscapes, Waterscapes, & Flora winner) pic.twitter.com/imbztwa74Z

— BigPicture (@bigpicturecomp) June 21, 2022

Photographs by Pal Hermansen won the award in the Nature Wisdom category.

The picture shows a beautiful and varied tapestry of insects that were accidentally killed after being attracted by the illumination of an outdoor lamp.

While Hermansen was cleaning the lamp, he discovered this natural treasure of assorted dead insects.

A portrait of Matty Pines also won the prize again in the Human or Nature category.

The photo shows the remains of frogs thrown into the water again after removing their legs for local consumption in Romania.

In the Storyboard category, Nyan Khanulkar from India won the award for a photograph showing the dwellings of local residents near the Maharashtra jungles inhabited by leopards.

The forest management there helped in developing the awareness of the population in order to forge a unique kind of coexistence between them and the leopards.

Although some accidents continue to occur, Khanolkar hopes this picture will show us the potential for harmony and coexistence between animals and humans.