Mexican photographer Alejandro Prieto’s image of a bird at the US-Mexico border wall has won a prestigious photo contest.
According to the BBC, Prieto was named the grand prize winner of the Bird Photographer of the Year competition after his image was selected from 22,000 entries.
His winning photograph depicts a roadrunner bird that has stopped in front of the wall.
Prieto, who has been documenting wildlife at the border for over a year, said he faced harassment from border control and the constant presence of drug cartels, from Guadalajara.
He was awarded $6,877 for winning the Bird Photographer of the Year competition.
Other categories included Young Bird Photographer of the Year and Urban Birds.
Prieto said the image highlights the threat to biodiversity that the wall poses.
The US-Mexico border region is a delicate ecosystem with regular animal and bird migrations moving north and south on the American continent.
In this region, a number of species need to cross the border to mate with their genetically different cousins, including the endangered North American jaguar and the black bear, which was re-introduced to Texas in the 1990s.
