Robert Irwin: Steve Irwin's son wins award for bushfire image

A Line of Fire was taken when Robert Irwin spotted smoke and launched his drone even though the battery was nearly flat

A dramatic drone image of a devastating bushfire in Australia, taken by TV environmentalist Steve Irwin's son, has won a major wildlife photo award.

A Line of Fire won the Wildlife Photographer of The Year People's Choice Award with 55,486 public votes.

Taken near the border of the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York, Queensland, it shows the split between conservation area and charred remains.

Robert Irwin, 17, said he was "incredibly excited" to win the award.

Robert Irwin pictured with his mother Terri on his 17th birthday in December

"For me, nature photography is about telling a story to make a difference for the environment and our planet," he said.

"I feel it is particularly special for this image to be awarded, not only as a profound personal honour but also as a reminder of our effect on the natural world and our responsibility to care for it."

Irwin revealed he only just managed to take the shot after spotting smoke and launching his drone even though it was running out of battery.

Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray in 2006

His father Steve Irwin was famous for his TV wildlife shows which regularly saw him handling crocodiles and led to him being dubbed the "Crocodile Hunter".

Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray during a diving expedition off the Australian coast in 2006.

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Around 25 images, out of 49,000 submissions to Wildlife Photographer of the Year, were chosen by the Natural History Museum, which runs the competition. The public then voted for the people's choice award.

Natural History Museum director Doug Gurr described Irwin's image as "stirring and symbolic".

The bushfire image and four others emerged as favourites, and will go on display in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London when the museum reopens.

Below are the four other highly commended finalists:

Ami Vitale's The Last Goodbye shows ranger Joseph Wachira comforting Sudan, the last male northern white rhino left on the planet, moments before he dies at Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya.

Drey Dreaming by Neil Anderson shows an Eurasian red squirrel asleep in a box the photographer had put up in one of the pine trees near his home in the Scottish Highlands.

Close Encounter by Guillermo Esteves shows a moose on the side of the road at Antelope Flats in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA, taking rather too keen an interest in a bemused-looking dog in a car.

Andy Parkinson's wintry portrait Hare Ball shows a mountain hare curled up as it grooms in Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.