{"id":949761,"date":"2026-11-02T10:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T10:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/949761\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T10:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T10:38:15","slug":"rhinos-charge-like-rugby-players-in-award-winning-photo-heads-down-and-all-that-weight-already-committed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/949761\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhinos charge like rugby players in award-winning photo: “heads down and all that weight already committed”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Black-and-white<\/p>\n

The powerful black-and-white image shows what it could look like if rhinos were playing rugby in the wild. | Credit: Preeti and Prashant – Chacko \/ The 17th Epson International Pano Awards’<\/p>\n

Heads down, bodies bunched together and charging forward: five rhinos at a Kenyan game reserve \u2013 and a few very quick-thinking cattle egrets \u2013 reminded the Indian wildlife photographer duo of a rugby forward pack. Now this image has won a major international photography award.<\/p>\n

In the end, the egrets managed to escape with barely a moment to spare.<\/p>\n

Titled The Rugby Players, the black-and-white image was shot by Preeti and Prashant Chacko, also known as @composingthewild<\/a>. The photograph has won the Epson Digital Art Prize at the 2026 Epson International Pano Awards<\/a>, which is the world’s biggest competition dedicated to panoramic photography.<\/p>\n

Epson Digital Art Prize<\/p>\n

“Southern white rhinos are, in their normal state, are surprisingly unthreatening – calm grazers who move around at a leisurely pace,” explain Preeti and Prashant Chacko.<\/p>\n

“One morning at Solio Game Reserve in Kenya we were photographing a group of 8 rhinos with a few cattle egrets walking among them, a rare sighting in most other national parks.<\/p>\n

“Something suddenly shifted and five of the rhinos broke into a run.”<\/p>\n

The duo suddenly understood why a group of rhinos is known as a crash when five of the animals broke into a run.<\/p>\n

“Neither of us has ever played rugby, but from the point of view of the egrets this is how we imagine a forward pack must look, heads down and all that weight already committed.<\/p>\n

“Seeing these many rhinos together is already rare and seeing them run together at another species is rarer still.<\/p>\n

“At Solio Game Reserve, where Kenya’s rhino population has been painstakingly rebuilt without any de-horning even an accidental moment of chaos feels like a miracle.”<\/p>\n

The Epson International Pano Awards\"Logo<\/p>\n

The 17th annual Epson<\/a> International Pano Awards have revealed its 2026 winners | Credit: Pano Awards<\/p>\n

Founded in 2019, the Epson International Pano Awards remain the world’s largest competition devoted exclusively to panoramic photography.<\/p>\n

The 2026 edition drew thousands of entries across Nature\/Landscape, Built Environment, VR\/360\u00b0 and Aerial categories, celebrating both professional and amateur photographers. Explore the 2026 winning gallery by visiting the Pano Awards website.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Browse the best cameras for wildlife photography<\/a>, the best trail cameras<\/a>, and the best professional cameras<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking for competitions to enter? Here are 10 global photo contests now open for entries from October 2026 to February 2027.<\/a><\/p>\n