Wildlife Photographer 2025, outstanding images from around the world
Wildlife Photographer of the Year serves as a global platform
Ghost Town Visitor, Wim van den Heever, South Africa, Winner, Urban Wildlife, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025
Wildlife Photographer
The 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition saw a record-breaking 60,636 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels, submitted by photographers from 113 countries and territories.
Now in its sixty-first year, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum and serves as a global platform for the world’s best nature photography and wildlife photojournalism. It is open to photographers of all ages, nationalities, and experience levels.
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This exhibition, featuring 19 category winners and images chosen for the competition’s 61st portfolio, will be at the Natural History Museum in London before embarking on a UK and international tour.
Photos for the competition were selected anonymously by experts across wildlife photography, filmmaking, conservation, and science, based on originality, technical excellence, and creativity. Topics range from underwater to urban wildlife, and photojournalism to mammal behaviour.
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South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 with his stunning and eerily dramatic image, Ghost Town Visitor.
This powerful photo highlights how nature can interact with urban spaces in unusual ways. Ghost Town Visitor is a haunting yet mesmerising view of a brown hyena visiting the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia.
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The rarest hyena species in the world, brown hyenas, are nocturnal, mostly solitary and rarely seen. They are known to pass through Kolmanskop on their way to hunt Cape fur seal pups or scavenge for carrion washed ashore along the Namib Desert coast.
This winning image is a testament to patience and perseverance. Using camera-trap technology, Wim van den Heever spent a decade capturing this single shot of a brown hyena, after first noticing their tracks at the site.
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Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury, Kathy Moran, says, “How fitting that this photograph was made in a ghost town. You get a prickly feeling just looking at this image, and you know that you’re in this hyena’s realm. I also love the twist on this interpretation of ‘urban’ – it was once but is no longer a human-dominated environment. Abandoned by miners, wildlife has taken over. Repopulated, if you will. Is it still a town – it would seem that way to me – just no longer ours.”
Young Wildlife Photographer
Andrea Dominizi was announced as the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 in the category for wildlife photographers aged 17 and under.
The photo of a longhorn beetle in After the Destruction tells a poignant tale of habitat loss.
After the Destruction, Andrea Dominizi, Italy, Winner, 15-17 Years, Young, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025
As longhorn beetles tunnel into dead wood, fungi enter, helping break it down and recycle nutrients. If the beetles’ habitat is disturbed or destroyed, the effects ripple across the entire ecosystem.
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Framed against abandoned machinery, the image spotlights a longhorn beetle in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy, an area once logged for old beech trees.
Andy Parkinson, jury member, says After the Destruction is: “An image filled with as much narrative and importance as it is with detail. A compelling, but harrowing photograph, it’s one that encourages the viewer to contemplate the nature of this fraught relationship.
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This image, so beautifully and compositionally crafted, will, I hope, stimulate conversation, discussion and an acceptance that we must deviate from our current path because it’s not just our own futures that we’re jeopardising.”
Impact Award
Brazilian photographer Fernando Faciole was awarded the competition’s Impact Award for his image Orphan of the Road.
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The photo spotlights an orphaned giant anteater pup following its caregiver after an evening feed at a rehabilitation centre.
Orphan of the Road, Fernando Faciole, Brazil, Highly Commended, Photojournalism Impact Award Winner 2025, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Now in its second year, the Impact Award recognises a conservation success, a story of hope or positive change.
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Fernando’s Orphan of the Road highlights the consequences of road collisions, a leading cause of the decline in giant anteater numbers in Brazil. The pup’s mother was killed by a vehicle, and the hope is that it will be released back into the wild after being encouraged to develop crucial survival skills by its caregiver.
The Anteaters and Highways project of the Wild Animal Conservation Institute provides rehabilitation centres and is developing strategies, such as erecting fences and building underground tunnels, to allow anteaters to cross safely, thereby reducing anteater deaths on Brazil’s roads.
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The winner in the 10 Years and Under category is Jamie Smart with her photo, The Weaver’s Lair.
The Weaver’s Lair, Jamie Smart, UK, Winner, 10 Years and Under, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Jamie first noticed the dew-laden web before realising its maker was sitting in a nest. This spider’s web is constructed from a radial-thread scaffold, overlaid with a spiral of sticky silk to ensnare insects.
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With patience and steadiness, she kept the spider perfectly lit and symmetrically framed, while manually focusing her camera to capture this remarkable photo.
Qingrong Yang’s photo Synchronised Fishing taken at Yundang Lake, Fujian Province, China is the winning image in the Behaviour: Birds category.
Synchronised Fishing, Qingrong Yang, China, Winner, Behaviour: Birds, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Once a natural marine harbour, Yundang Lake was sealed off from the sea during 1970s development. Isolated from the tides and currents, it became polluted and stagnant. Qingrong was at Yundang Lake, a place he visits regularly to photograph the feeding frenzies: little egrets patrol the surface, ready to pounce on fish leaping to escape underwater predators.
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His perfect timing captures a ladyfish snatching its prey from right under an egret’s beak.
Frolicking Frogs by Quentin Martinez is the winner in the category of Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles.
Frolicking Frogs, Quentin Martinez, France, Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
In persistent rain, Quentin followed a flooded path to a temporary pool in a forest clearing in Kaw Mountain, French Guiana, to discover a gathering of lesser tree frogs in a breeding event.
To attract mates, lesser tree frogs produce short, shrill calls. Huge numbers gather, and the spectacular breeding event – triggered by heavy rains – lasts for just a few hours.
Behaviour of Amphibians and Reptiles
He framed the scene with a wide-angle lens and used a diffused flash that didn’t disturb the frogs to highlight their metallic sheen.
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Georgina Steytler showcases the strange headgear of a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar in her winning photo, Mad Hatterpillar, in the Behaviour: Invertebrates category.
Mad Hatterpillar, Georgina Steytler, Australia, Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
She had been looking out for this caterpillar for years when she noticed eucalyptus trees in Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia, bearing skeletonised leaves, telltale signs that the animal had been grazing.
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She took the Mad Hatterpillar image backlit by the setting sun, using a fill-in flash to illuminate the living head at the base of the stack. The caterpillar’s unusual headgear is made up of old head capsules, each retained with every moult. The resulting tower is believed to help deflect attacks by predators.
Oceans: The Bigger Picture
Audun Rikardsen witnessed feeding time around an Atlantic fishing vessel during a polar night in northern Norway.
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He photographed a chaotic scene of gulls attempting to catch fish trapped in nets, which became the winning image, The Feast, in the Oceans: The Bigger Picture category.
The Feast, Audun Rikardsen, Norway, Winner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The gulls have learnt to follow the sound of the boats to find a herring feast. Unfortunately, many birds drown as nets are drawn closed and pulled into the boats.
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Through his work, Audun aims to draw attention to the ongoing conflict between seabirds and the fishing industry.
Chien Lee illuminates insects in Malaysia with his winning photo, Deadly Allure, in the Plants and Fungi category.
Deadly Allure, Chien Lee, Malaysia, Winner, Plants and Fungi, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Insects can see ultraviolet (UV) light, but humans can’t, so Chien used a long exposure and a UV torch to reveal the fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant.
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Waiting until after sunset, he had just a five-minute window before the ambient light illuminating the backdrop disappeared completely.
Simone Baumeister shows an orb-weaver spider on its web on a pedestrian bridge, silhouetted by the lights from the cars below, in Caught in the Headlights.
Caught in the Headlights, Simone Baumeister, Germany, Winner, Natural Artistry, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This winning image in the Natural Artistry category was taken in Germany and achieves a kaleidoscopic effect.
In urban environments, orb weaver spiders often spin webs near artificial lights that attract insects at night. The web acts as an extension of their sense organ, gathering sound and transmitting vibrations, including those of prey, to their legs.
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To take this photo, Simone reversed one of the six glass elements in an analogue lens.
This distorted the image at the edges while leaving the centre sharply focused. She then cropped the picture to move the spider slightly off-centre.
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Ralph Pace beautifully illuminates the egg case of a swell shark, tethered to the base of a giant kelp.
Survival Purse, his winning image in the Underwater category, is lit from behind to reveal the swell shark embryo within, its gill slits and yolk sac clearly visible among the dark kelp forest in Monterey Bay, California.
Survival Purse, Ralph Pace, USA, Winner, Underwater, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Researchers estimate that kelp forests in Monterey Bay have declined by more than 95 per cent over the past 34 years. Swell sharks depend on kelp to lay their leathery eggs, making them especially vulnerable to such losses.
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Ralph struggled to keep steady while photographing the egg case, or mermaid’s purse, as strong currents pushed him from side to side.
Sebastian Frölich finds a springtail among a galaxy of neon green gas bubbles in Austrian moorlands.
Vanishing Pond, Sebastian Frölich, Germany, Winner, Wetlands: The Bigger Picture, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Vanishing Pond, his winning photo in the Wetlands: The Bigger Picture category, shows a tiny springtail amongst escaping gas bubbles rising through the algae, giving this image a sense of scale.
Sebastian visited this fragile wetland ecosystem to highlight its importance as a vast store of carbon dioxide and as a habitat for a diverse array of wildlife.
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In the Photojournalist Story Award category, Javier Aznar González de Rueda explores the complex relationship between humans and rattlesnakes across the United States.
Rattled: End of the Round-up, Javier Aznar González de Rueda, Spain, Winner, Photojournalist Story Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
His winning portfolio, titled End of the Round-up, features multiple photos, including Rattled, a black-tailed rattlesnake spotted on the road at night outside Fort Davis, Texas, USA.
Rattlesnakes have been viewed in vastly different ways across the American continent – from reverence and respect to fear and suspicion.
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Annual rattlesnake round-ups, where hunters compete to collect the highest weight of snakes, began in the 1930s. Today, these competitions have lost their appeal, but in some states, anti-rattlesnake sentiment remains strong.
In this portfolio, Javier calls for respect and protection for these creatures before they disappear from the American landscape.
Luca Lorenz of Germany aims to show people his personal view of nature and inspire others to protect it. His childhood ambition was to learn everything he could about birds.
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He spent long hours in the parks around his home on the outskirts of Berlin, observing them. He bought his first camera when he was 13, and photography became a passion and his way to view the natural world.
Meet the Neighbours: Watchful Moments, Luca Lorenz, Germany Winner, Rising Star Award, Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
His winning portfolio titled Watchful Moments, in the Rising Star Award category, includes the enigmatic photo Meet the Neighbours.
Luca was photographing mute swans on an urban lake one evening when a coypu, a rodent introduced from South America, appeared in the frame. Having been shipped across the world for the fur trade, coypu have since established many feral populations.
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Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, says: “Now in its sixty-first year, we are thrilled to continue Wildlife Photographer of the Year as a powerful platform for visual storytelling, showing the diversity, beauty and complexity of the natural world and humanity’s relationship to it.”
Text and photos courtesy of Natural History Museum, London / Edited by Cammy Yiu
