Fittleworth man’s photo of plum-sized bat wins national photography competition

After amateur wildlife photographers from across the country rose to the challenge set by the Mammal Society, it was Daniel Whitby’s image of a lesser horseshoe bat that came out on top in the annual ‘Mammal Photographer of the Year’ contest.

Head judge of this year’s competition, ecologist and photographer Dr Brett Lewis, said: “In creating this amazing image, Daniel has achieved and shares with us an incredibly high standard of photography.

“One of Britain’s smaller species of bats, lesser horseshoes are about the size of a plum. Obtaining a photograph as sharp and as clear as this takes a lot of skill, as well as requiring sound knowledge of the subject.

“The subjects covered in this year’s selection of photographs include an array of species observed close to home, in our gardens or streets, in local parks or during permitted activities such as conducting voluntary surveys as part of national monitoring projects for protected species.”

Daniel is a highly regarded ecological consultant and bat scientist and he has a special licence that allows him to photograph bats as part of his ongoing research.

He said: “These bats are particularly small and fast, and can stay close to features and edges making them particularly difficult to photograph.”