A striking photo captures the moment a venomous green pit viper devours a brown tree frog in a rainforest in Taiwan, as the frog forlornly takes a final gulp of air. The gruesome shot has been shortlisted in the Close-up Photographer of the Year 2024 competition.
Green pit vipers (Trimeresurus) have bright green scales and a venomous bite. They are highly skilled predators often found in tropical forests across Asia. The snake's prey in this case, a brown tree frog (Polypedates braueri), is a master of camouflage and agility and it typically resides in trees.
"As I walked along the trail, with no expectations, a faint cry from the ditch caught my attention," photographer Woody Tu said in a statement provided by the competition. When he approached, he discovered the viper clutching the frog in its jaws. "In its final moments, the frog stretched its mouth wide to take a last breath before the venom took its toll," he said.
The image has been shortlisted in the Animals category in the Close-up Photographer of the Year, which also includes a photo of a young wallaby snuggled in its mother's pouch and a satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) in front of its decorated bower — a curved structure built to attract females.
A panel of 25 judges selected the shortlisted images from 11,681 entries, from which the top 100 images and winning photos will be chosen and released in January 2025.
You can see some of the shortlisted images below.
