A picture of a hunting wolf has won the prestigious Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 award.

Jose Luis Rodriguez captured the imaginations of the judges with a picture that he had planned for years, and even sketched out on a piece of paper.

“I wanted to capture a photo in which you would see a wolf in an act of hunting - or predation - but without blood,” he told BBC News. “I didn’t want a cruel image.”

With a great deal of patience and careful observation of the wolves’ movements, he succeeded in taking the award-winning photograph.

Mr Rodriguez used a custom-built infrared trap to snap the wolf as it leapt into the air.

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