Overall Winner
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

This Jackson Pollock-esque portrait of a bull elephant splattering muddy water was voted best overall photo in the 2007 Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Unveiled yesterday at the Natural History Museum in London, the winning images—five of which are included in this gallery—were chosen from a record 32,000 entries from professional and amateur photographers in 78 countries.

British photographer Ben Osborne spent three weeks staking out Botswana's Chobe National Park. Holed up in his vehicle, he photographed animals as they came to drink in a water hole during the dry season.

“This huge bull was the first to indulge in a head-to-toe spa,” Osborne said in a statement. “I focused on the center of the action—an explosion of texture and color.”

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—Photograph © Ben Osborne/Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 (Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year is owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine)