Yawning cat bags photo award for Branscombe boy

A 12-year-old Devon boy is amongst the winners of a national photography competition

by Adam Manning

Meet Milou the cat (right). And Marlon Darragh the photographer (below, with TV presenter Chris Packham).

Marlon’s just won the 12-15 year old category of the RSPCA's 2017 Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards – a competition open to young photographers from around England and Wales.

Marlon was one of thousands of youngsters reaching for their cameras and phones to snap local wildlife. The 12 year-old from Branscombe, East Devon, loves taking pictures on his phone. But when his cat Milou was yawning during a snooze on the patio he had lost it, so took his now award-winning snap on his dad’s iPad instead.

This was his first competition he had entered and he didn’t expect to win.

The Sidmouth college student modestly says he: “just took the picture at the right time” and that he was surprised to have won. He says he particularly likes “the contrast between her white fur and the dark grey slate, and the way her whiskers really stand out.”

Marlon picked up his prize at an awards ceremony at the Tower of London and was very excited to meet Chris Packham.

The wildlife presenter says: “It’s nice to see so many photos of day-to-day animals in such a strong competition.  It needs real imagination to make commonplace species interesting, showing that the photographer has been really innovative.

“There are a whole range of images this year from creatures they’ve found in their back garden to pets or animals they’ve seen while they were on holiday.  It’s great these young people are going out and experiencing the environment around them and in their local area.”