A shocking photo of a rhinoceros that was slaughtered for its horns has been named Wildlife Photograph of the Year 2017.

The image was taken by South African photographer Brent Stirton in the luhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve in north-eastern South Africa.

It shows a black rhino slumped in the mud with a raw, fleshy area where its horns used to be. The animal was shot during the night by poachers who used a gun with a silencer to avoid being detected. They then hacked off the rhino’s two horns, which in some Asian countries have a street value higher than gold or cocaine.

In China and Vietnam, rhino horn, which is actually made of the same material as human toe and finger nails, is believed to cure an wide array of illnesses. Black rhinos are now a critically endangered species, largely because of the illegal trade in their horns. There are thought to be only around 5,000 left in the world.

The image, named Memorial to a Species, is part of a series captured by Mr Stirton. He visited more than 30 sites at which animals had been killed.

He told BBC News: “My first child is going to be born in February; I'm 48. And I think I left it such a long time because I kind of lost faith in a lot of the work we see as photojournalists. You lose faith in humanity to some extent.

"For me to win this, for the jury to acknowledge this kind of picture - it's illustrative that we are living in a different time now, that this is a real issue. The sixth age of extinction is a reality and rhinos are just one of many species that we are losing at a hugely accelerated rate and I am grateful that the jury would choose this image because it gives this issue another platform."

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Show all 14 1 /14 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 The good life - Daniel Nelson - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Daniel Nelson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Giant gathering - Tony Wu - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Memorial to a species - Brent Stirton - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Brent Stirton/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 The jellyfish jockey - Anthony Berberian - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Anthony Berberian/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 The ancient ritual - Brian Skerry - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Brian Skerry/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Stuck in - Ashleigh Scully - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Ashleigh Scully/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Contemplation - Peter Delaney - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Peter Delaney/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Palm-oil survivors - Aaron Gekoski - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Aaron Gekoski/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 The ice monster - Laurent Ballesta - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Laurent Ballesta - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Crab surprise - Justin Gilligan - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Justin Gilligan/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Polar pas de deux - Eilo Elvinger - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Eilo Elvinger/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 The incubator bird - Gerry Pearce - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Gerry Pearce/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Tapestry of life - Dorin Bofan - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Dorin Bofan/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 In the grip of the gulls - Ekaterina Bee - Wildlife Photographer of the Year Ekaterina Bee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Mr Stirton’s image beat almost 50,000 entries from 92 countries after being selected by an international panel of judges.

The winners’ awards were handed out at a gala dinner at the Natural History Museum, where all 99 finalist images will be on display from 20 October, before they go on tour across the globe.

Sir Michael Dixon, the museum’s director, said: “Brent’s image highlights the urgent need for humanity to protect our planet and the species we share it with. The black rhino offers a sombre and challenging counterpart to the story of ‘Hope’ our blue whale. Like the critically endangered black rhinoceros, blue whales were once hunted to the brink of extinction, but humanity acted on a global scale to protect them. This shocking picture of an animal butchered for its horns is a call to action for us all."