KUWAIT CITY, Nov 22: Kuwaiti photographer Mohammad Murad earned an Honorable Mention in the Wildlife Portraits category at the Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2025, a major international competition held in Bangalore, India.

The competition’s website published the winning images on Friday, reporting that more than 1,250 photographers from around 40 countries submitted roughly 16,000 photos across eight categories dedicated to creative nature-conservation photography.

Murad told KUNA that the recognition strengthens Kuwait’s growing presence in Asian and global wildlife photography contests. He said such international acknowledgment motivates him to continue producing work that showcases the beauty of wildlife and raises awareness about the importance of nature conservation.

He explained that his awarded photograph portrays a rare and endangered Pallas’s cat with its eyes completely covered by a snowstorm, forcing the animal to rely on its other senses for survival — a scene that reflects the species’ remarkable resilience in extreme conditions. Murad captured the image during a 19-day expedition in Mongolia, where temperatures fell to minus 35°C.

Murad has earned numerous awards over the years, including first place in last year’s edition of the same competition in the Animal Portraits category for his image of an Arabian fox in Kuwait. The achievement underscores the strong and growing presence of Kuwaiti photographers on the international wildlife and nature photography stage.