Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025, the successful photographs

A ghostly shot of a uncommon hyena visiting the skeletal stays of a long-abandoned diamond mining city in Kolmanskop, Namibia, has received one of the best picture on this yr’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. 

The annual competitors, run by London’s Natural History Museum, acquired a record-breaking 60,636 entries from 113 international locations and territories this yr. Winners had been introduced this week, with South African photographer Wim van den Heever claiming the highest prize.

“How fitting that this photograph was made in a ghost town,” stated Kathy Moran, chair of the judging panel. “You get a prickly feeling just looking at this image and you know that you’re in this hyena’s realm.”

She added: “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.”

“This picture is a multi-layered story of loss, resilience and the natural world’s silent triumph, making it an unforgettable piece of wildlife and conservation photography,” stated Akanksha Sood Singh, jury member for the competitors.

Now in its sixty-first yr, the competitors continues to be a ‘powerful platform for visual storytelling, showing the diversity, beauty and complexity of the natural world and humanity’s relationship to it’.

“With the inclusion of our Biodiversity Intactness Index, this year’s exhibition will be our best combination of great artistry and groundbreaking science yet, helping visitors to become inspired to be advocates for our planet,” stated Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum.

An exhibition of the successful photographs launches on Friday seventeenth October on the Natural History Museum. More data may be discovered here.

Winning pictures: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025