“Deadly Bite” © Ian Ford, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behavior: Mammals
“Ian Ford documents the moment a jaguar delivers a fatal bite to a caiman in the Pantanal. A call over the radio alerted Ian that a jaguar had been spotted prowling the banks of a São Lourenço River tributary. Kneeling in the boat, he was perfectly placed when the cat delivered the skull-crushing bite to the unsuspecting yacare caiman. The South American Pantanal wetland supports the highest density of jaguars anywhere in the world. With prey being so abundant, there is no need to compete for food, and the usually solitary big cats have been seen fishing, traveling, and playing together.” Location: Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil Technical details: Sony α1 + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/800 at f4 (-1 e/v); ISO 400
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has released some of this year’s extraordinary, highly commended photos ahead of its October winner’s announcement. From a jaguar preying on a caiman to a close-up look at a David Bowie spider, the photographs show off the marvels of the natural world.
The 60th competition, organized by London’s Natural History Museum, attracted a record-breaking 59,228 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 117 countries and territories. An international panel of industry experts judged entries on their creativity, originality, and technical excellence.
These photographs are just a taste of the 100 images that will be on display during the forthcoming Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. The selection includes Randy Robbins’ haunting photo of a deceased doe covered in frost, the first smartphone photo to be honored in the competition. In fact, the circle of life is on display in many images, including William Fortescue’s evocative black-and-white image of mating lions and Tommy Trenchard’s image of a shark struggling as it was hauled aboard a Spanish longliner.
“In this selection, you see species diversity, a range of behavior, and conservation issues,” shares Kathy Moran, chair of the judging panel. “These images represent the evolution of the competition through the years, from pure natural history to photography that fully embraces representation of the natural world—the beauty and the challenges. It is a powerful selection with which to kickstart a milestone anniversary.”
As part of the 60th anniversary celebrations, the Museum’s flagship exhibition will feature a timeline of key moments in the competition’s history.
“Over the decades, Wildlife Photographer of the Year has pushed the boundaries of wildlife photography as the competition evolved alongside technological advancements,” says Museum Director Dr. Doug Gurr. “But still today, the competition remains true to one of its founding objectives: ‘to enhance the prestige of wildlife photography in the hope that ultimately the awards would benefit animals by creating greater public interest in them and in that all-important topic—conservation.’”
Scroll down to preview more highly commended images from the competition and stay tuned for the October 8 announcement of the winners.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has released some of the 60th edition’s extraordinary, highly commended photos.
“Ziggy Spider” © Lam Soon Tak, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behaviour: Invertebrates
“Lam Soon Tak spots a vibrantly colored David Bowie spider carrying an egg sac. Lam was exploring the highlands of Malaysia when he came across this spider. Perched on broken branches beside a river, the bright white disc of eggs in the spider’s jaws and its orange body stood out against the lush green moss.
Found in Malaysia, Singapore and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, this spider was named in 2008 by arachnologist and Bowie fan Dr Peter Jäger. He thought the striking markings up to the spider’s head region resembled the make-up worn by the singer during the 1970s.”
Location: Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia
Technical details: Nikon Z 8 + 105mm f2.8 lens; 1/125 at f20; ISO 250; multiple flashes + DIY diffusers
“Stormy Scene” © William Fortescue, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behavior: Mammals
“William Fortescue uses a backdrop of storm clouds lit by the setting sun to show mating lions. It was the rainy season when William visited the Serengeti National Park. He watched the lions mate several times before the female broke it off. It wasn’t until William viewed an enlarged image that he noticed the saliva trails and the explosion of insects from the male’s mane. Lions can mate throughout the year, but synchronizing the births of cubs increases the reproductive success of a pride. Female pride members display cooperative behaviors, including raising cubs together to ensure their survival into adulthood.”
Location: Namiri Plains, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Technical details: Nikon Z 9 + 70–200mm f2.8 lens; 1/1000 at f5; ISO 320
“Hooked” © Tommy Trenchard, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture
“Tommy Trenchard documents the bycatch of a requiem shark; its body arched in a final act of resistance. Tommy was traveling on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. The ship’s research expedition aimed to document the bycatch or accidental capture of sharks by fishing boats targeting tuna and swordfish, and to highlight the lack of effective regulation of industrial-scale fishing in international waters. Approximately 80 million sharks are taken from the world’s oceans every year. Because of fishing, numbers of sharks worldwide have dropped since 1970. Three-quarters of all shark species are now at risk of extinction.”
Location: International waters, South Atlantic Ocean
Technical details: Fujifilm X-T2 + 50–230mm f4.5–6.7 lens; 1/550 at f5.2; ISO 500
“The Last Resting Place” © Randy Robbins, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Natural Artistry
“Randy Robbins is struck by the unusual beauty of the frosted form of this deer on the forest floor. On an early winter morning, Randy was checking the trail cameras near his home when he found the body of this deer. He photographed this poignant moment using his smartphone before the ice could melt.”
Location: Near Susanville, California, USA
Technical details: Apple iPhone XR; 4.25mm built-in lens; 1/121 at f1.8
“Twist and Jump” © Jose Manuel Grandío , Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behavior: Mammals
“Jose Manuel Grandío braves below-zero temperatures to witness a stoat jumping high into the air above the snow. Winter is Jose’s favorite season for photography. When he spotted this stoat jumping mid-air on the last day of his trip, he saw this performance as an ‘expression of exuberance’ as the small mammal hurled itself about in a fresh fall of snow. Scientists refer to this behavior as dancing, although opinions are divided about what motivates it, from an attempt to confuse prey through to a parasitic infection. Stoats are usually active at night and prey on small mammals and birds.”
Location: Athose, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
Technical details: Nikon D500 + 500mm f4 lens; 1/6000 at f4; ISO 800
“Moonlight Hunter” © Xingchao Zhu, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behavior: Mammals
“Xingchao Zhu comes face to face with a Pallas’s cat as the moon sets. Xingchao tracked a group of Pallas’s cats on the freezing plateau of Inner Mongolia for several days during the Chinese New Year in February 2023. Shortly before dawn, Xingchao managed to make eye contact with this cat, just as it had caught a small bird. The thick winter coats of Pallas’s cats help them survive at altitudes up to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet). They avoid larger predators by stealth, and it’s thought that their low, rounded ears allow them to peer over obstacles while remaining hidden.”
Location: Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, China
Technical details: Nikon Z 9 + 800mm f6.3 lens; 1/160 at f6.3; ISO 1400
The contest attracted a record-breaking 59,228 entries from photographers in 117 countries and territories.
“In the Spotlight” © Shreyovi Mehta, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Runner-Up, 10 Years and Under
“Shreyovi Mehta finds two Indian peafowl ‘looking perfect for a picture’. Shreyovi was walking in the forest with her parents when she spotted this scene. She ran back to her dad, who was carrying the cameras, then got down on the ground to take her photograph from a low angle. Renowned for its birdlife, Keoladeo attracts large numbers of water birds in winter. Peafowl are year-round residents that roost in large trees. They rest in the shade during the day and are more active in open areas at dawn and dusk.”
Location: Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India
Technical details: Canon EOS R5 + 100–500mm f4.5–7.1 lens; 1/800 at f10; ISO 1600
“The Disappearing Ice Cap” © Thomas Vijayan, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture
“Thomas Vijayan utilizes his drone to show the epic scale of the Bråsvellbreen glacier. Encapsulating the magnificence of the Austfonna ice cap required meticulous planning and favorable weather conditions. Thomas’s image, a stitched panorama of 26 individual frames, provides a spectacular summer view of meltwater plunging over the edge of the Bråsvellbreen glacier. The Bråsvellbreen glacier is part of Austfonna, Europe’s third largest ice cap. This dome of ice is one of several that covers the land area of the Svalbard archipelago. Some scientific models suggest that Svalbard’s glaciers could disappear completely within 400 years due to climate change.”
Location: Svalbard, Norway
Technical details: DJI Mavic Mini 2 + 24mm f2.8 lens; 26 individual exposures
“Strength in Numbers” © Theo Bosboom, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment
“Theo Bosboom shows how mussels bind together to avoid being washed away from the shoreline. Theo likes to take images of species that aren’t usually considered beautiful or important, to highlight their unappreciated significance. He took this image from above with a probe lens – a long, thin, macro wide-angle lens. Mussels play an important role in creating dynamic ecosystems for other marine invertebrates such as crustaceans, worms and even small fish. They improve the water quality by filter-feeding, extracting plankton as well as bacteria and toxins, which prevents them from building up to dangerous levels.”
Location: Praia da Ursa, Sintra, Portugal
Technical details: Canon EOS R5 + Laowa 24mm Periprobe lens; 0.6 sec at f32; ISO 200; focus stack of 9 images
“Going with the Floe” © Tamara Stubbs and Atlantic Productions, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment.
“Tamara Stubbs spots these crabeater seals taking a nap among the sea ice. In a standout moment on her nine-week expedition in the Weddell Sea, Tamara noticed that seals had fallen asleep alongside the ship, with the tips of their nostrils at the water’s surface. These two had bobbed up so they could take a deeper breath. There are around four million crabeater seals in the Antarctic. Although they are not considered endangered or under threat, the seals are protected by international conservation agreements. More research is needed to understand the impact of climate change and tourism on their populations.”
Location: Weddell Sea, Antarctica
Technical details: Sony α7R II + Canon 24–70mm f2.8 lens at 70mm; 1/320 at f7.1; ISO 100; polarizing filter
“Precious Rocks” © Samual Stone, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behavior: Birds.
“Samual Stone watches as a jackdaw brings stones to its nest. Samual had been keeping an eye on the hole in the trunk of a half-fallen willow tree in London’s Bushy Park – he’d seen a pair of jackdaws visiting with their beaks full of hair taken from the coats of local deer. Jackdaws are highly intelligent and adaptable. They build new nests each year from all sorts of materials: twigs, branches, feathers, wool, moss, mud, and animal dung. This pair kept adding rocks to theirs.”
Location: Bushy Park, London, England, UK
Technical details: Nikon D5500 + Sigma 150–600mm f5-6.3 lens; 1/500 at f6.3; ISO 800
“Leaving the Nest” © Sasha Jumanca, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, 10 Years and Under
“Sasha Jumanca finds two tawny owlets curiously watching people walking by. Sasha had been watching these tawny owlets for several days in a park near his home. He had seen tawny owls in the neighborhood before but was surprised to discover these so close to the heart of the city. Owlets leave the nest before they can fly, in a phase known as ‘branching’. They will jump, flutter and climb around branches of nearby trees for several weeks while begging for food from their parents, before they eventually fledge and fly away.”
Location: Maximiliansanlagen, Munich, Germany
Technical details: Nikon D7200 + 200–500mm f5.6 lens at 270mm; 1/500 at f6.3; ISO 2200
“Center of Attention” © Georgina Steytler, Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Highly Commended, Behavior: Invertebrates
“Georgina Steytler observes a ball of male Dawson’s burrowing bees vying for access to a female. Georgina has been studying these bees for a few years and knew she had to keep her distance. Lying on the hot, rocky, sun-baked ground with sand blowing in her face, her long lens enabled her to get the perfect image. When female Dawson’s burrowing bees emerge in spring, they are surrounded by males competing to mate with them. After mating, the female bee will dig a new burrow filled with pollen and eggs, from which the hatched bees will emerge in spring.”
Location: Near Carnarvon, Western Australia, Australia
Technical details: Nikon Z 8 + 800mm f6.3 lens + 1.4x teleconverter; 1/5000 at f11; ISO 640