Sponsored by the London Natural History Museum, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards showcase annually the best wildlife photography. The winners are still under wraps, but for now, we can enjoy a selection of some great entries.
Our headline image was taken using a motion sensor camera secured beneath a hole in the Arctic sea ice. It shows what a seal might see, seconds before being devoured by a polar bear. Another Arctic image, taken by Vegard Byrkjeland Aasen of the Norwegian Orca Survey, captures the “mourning” behavior of these whales. In the strange and poignant image, an adult carries the body of a deceased calf.
Aasen watched this orca repeatedly lift the dead calf back out of the water. Photo: Vegard Byrkjeland Aasen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Man and beast
Several entries captured the often contentious relationship between wildlife and the modern urban world. Jack Crockford, a teen photographer competing in the 15 to 17-year-old category, submitted a perfectly timed shot of a swift alongside a jet. The pair of flying objects, superimposed, shares a strikingly similar outline.
Photo: Jack Crockford/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Another interposition of human and animal life occurred in Los Angeles, where a cinnamon-colored black bear took a dip in a swimming pool. Black bears are so common in California that they feature on the state’s flag. As more of their habitat is turned into residential housing, they’ve become a familiar sight in suburban backyards.
Yes, this is a black bear. Yes, it is very visibly brown. Black bears can come in a wide range of colors, and humans are often bad at naming things. Photo: Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award/Loren Elliott
Fierce hunters
It wouldn’t be wildlife photography if there weren’t some showcase of what documentaries call the “brutality of nature.” While that may conjure images of lionesses tearing into gazelles, predators and prey tangle all the way down the food chain. Jens Cullmann snapped the image below of an African bullfrog in frantic pursuit of a babul butterfly.
This hunt, revealed the photographer, was not a success. For the frog, anyway. The butterfly was presumably pleased with the result. Photo: Jens Cullmann/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Another unsuccessful hunt features in Allegra Hutton’s entry. Here, a young leopard finds itself awkwardly clutching onto a tree in pursuit of a squirrel.
The squirrel simply climbed higher, and the leopard left, probably embarrassed. Photo: Allegra Hutton/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Striking visuals
Some entries stand out not for the animal behavior they document but for sheer visual appeal. Bence Mate’s entry shows a flock of red-billed queleas in flight above a warmly glowing waterhole.
Photo: Bence Mate/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award
Another entry, from Shane Gross, the 2024 winner, is an eye-catching split-level image. While a powerful storm looms above the surface, underwater, a school of bigeye trevally swims, seemingly unbothered.
Photo: Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award/Shane Gross
The category and overall winners will be revealed on October 13, and the in-person exhibition will open on October 16. While you wait, take a look at last year’s awards, which include a ghostly image of the world’s rarest hyena.
