The 2023 grand prize winner, selected by our prestigious jury of photography professionals, is this heart-rending image showing a scared and defiant elephant that has been struck by a freight train in the Lopé National Park in Gabon. The animal suffered a shattered hip and later died, with its meat being distributed by the park’s director amongst the local community. The train that hit this elephant was carrying manganese, a significant Gabonese export product. It highlights the everyday dangers that human infrastructure creates for wildlife.

For bringing this scene to the world’s attention, photographer Jasper Doest wins a €5000 grant, an invitation including travel and accommodation to the University of Ecuador’s Amazon Research Station in the heart of the Ecuadorian jungle, and an invitation including travel and accommodation to Monaco for the 2023 Award Ceremony.