



The above photo, titled "Deadlock," landed David Maitland a 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. The winners of the contest, run by the Natural History of London and BBC Wildlife Magazine, were announced last week. A photo of a snow leopard won best overall while Maitland's shot took the prize in the "Animal Behavior: All Other Animals" category. From National Geographic:

Maitland observed from midnight to 3 a.m. as a rare Morelet's tree frog doggedly refused to become supper for a cat-eyed snake–and still didn't see the conclusion.

"I would love to have seen them go their separate ways, but I was exhausted," the photographer said. "The frog was all the time trying to pull the snake off, but the snake just wouldn't let go.