Kenyan photographer Mark Boyd is heartbeats away from the grand prize after Smithsonian Magazine selected his photo among 25 pictures of the year.
The selected photo was of two lionesses licking a cub after an overnight of hunting.
According to the magazine, the two lionesses have been raising their cubs together and were in the process of cleaning one of the offsprings after returning from a hunting mission.
"While hunting overnight at Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, a pride of female lions hid their cubs in the bushes. Upon their return, the lionesses called their five young out to the grassland and began cleaning one of them," stated the outlet.
"Photographer Mark Boyd of Kenya captured a tender moment between two of the pride’s lionesses, which share parenting responsibilities, and one of the cubs."
Boyd's photo emerged among the top 25 pictures drawn from 50,000 other works submitted to the outlet by photographers in 95 countries.
Other photos that made the cut included that of an elephant at a dumpster in Sri Lanka, a close-up shot of a cub at Kruger Park in South Africa, and a snore hare at Rocky Mountain National Park in America.
The outlet displayed all the 25 photographs at the Smithsonian Museum and opened the public voting process for the selection of the winner of the prestigious People’s Choice Award.
The voting process will be open until January 31 while the winner will be unveiled on February 7.
People’s Choice Award is considered the Oscars of wildlife photography for offering 'an astounding selection of images,' according to Douglas Gurr, director of the museum.
Kenyans have over the years excelled in taking wildlife photographs including that of Fatu, one of the world’s two remaining northern white rhinoceroses, which was named by National Geographic among the best worldwide.
The rhino was pictured at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.
