A Singapore-based nature photographer has won the 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year.

Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan's photo of a male orangutan looking cautiously from behind a tree while crossing a river in Borneo managed to beat the other 11,000 photo submissions and won the grand prize of US$7,500 (S$10,141).

The "poignant image" of the animal had impressed the judges:

Photo by @Jayaprakash_bojan | After over 11,000 photo submissions from around the world, our panel of judges has named the 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year! Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan of Singapore is this year's grand prize winner for his stunning shot of an enormous male orangutan, waist-deep in a river, shyly peeking from behind a tree. Our judges were impressed by how the poignant image spoke to the impact deforestation is having on the habitat of this critical endangered species. See all of this year's spectacular award-winning photos at ‪natgeo.com/photocontest‬ (link in profile).

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Dec 12, 2017 at 11:32am PST

According to National Geographic, Bojan had learnt about the river-crossing orangutan from a ranger, and had then lain in wait for two days for it to appear.

The Indian citizen had re-located to Singapore and left his corporate job in order to travel and photograph full time.

What is so special about his photo?

Orangutans normally steer clear of rivers and lakes to avoid the crocodiles and snakes that lurk there.

Their long arms are made more for swinging in the trees than dog-paddling.

So, unless they absolutely had to, they would not attempt a dangerous river crossing easily.

National Geographic said that the photo "spoke to the impact deforestation is having on the habitat of this critical endangered species".

The orangutan was also captured holding his arms high above the water, as if he's afraid of getting his hands wet:

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Bojan's other wildlife shots

Here are some of his other nature shots that are equally awe-inspiring:

This is his second photo that made it to the final round:

Top image via Bojan's Instagram

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