Photography

The Closing 24 Images of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

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A collage of three wildlife photos: a bobcat pouncing on a bird, a close-up of a polar bear's face in snow, and a green insect with textured skin perched on a red plant.

Photographers from 113 totally different nations entered a record-setting 60,636 images to the 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitors in 2025. The excellent contest winners have been unveiled final fall, however now it’s time for the folks to have their say. One of those 24 stunning wildlife images will win the celebrated People’s Choice Award, and voting is open now.

This yr’s People’s Choice Award is introduced by Nuveen, the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. The exhibition not solely seems on the Natural History Museum in London but additionally travels internationally to Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and extra areas worldwide.

The Natural History Museum, London, and a global panel of pictures, wildlife, conservation, and science consultants chosen the 2 dozen shortlisted pictures beneath. Subjects vary from teeny-tiny critters like bug nymphs, spiders, and hummingbirds to massive, highly effective predators like polar bears, lions, and tigers, with all kinds of fantastic animals in between.

A close-up of a sloth with wet, shaggy fur cradling its baby, which is nestled closely into its arms, both with their eyes partially visible among the thick fur.
A brown-throated three-toed sloth mom cradles her younger in her arms to shelter it from the rain. | © Dvir Barkay (USA), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A close-up of a translucent, bright green insect with bumpy skin standing on the red and orange spiky petals of a flower, against a blurred green background.
An ambush bug nymph stays immobile in a flower, ready for prey to wander inside attain. | © Joseph Ferraro (USA), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A small yellow crab rides on top of a translucent green jellyfish, floating in dark water with tiny particles scattered around them.
Against the darkness of the night-time sea, a juvenile swimming crab hitches a experience on a jellyfish. | © Chris Gug (USA), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A wild lynx stands on a dirt path, mid-pounce, with an open mouth and one paw extended toward a small rabbit leaping through the air nearby. Bushes and blurred greenery fill the background.
A younger lynx playfully throws a rodent into the air earlier than killing and devouring it. | © Josef Stefan (Austria), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A close-up of a baby pangolin resting on a dark, soft surface. The pangolin’s textured, scale-covered body and small claws are clearly visible against the black background.
A pangolin pup nestles into the heat of a blanket at a rescue centre in South Africa. | © Lance van de Vyver (South Africa), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A Bengal tiger walks through a dense forest at night, illuminated by a spotlight, with dark trees and foliage surrounding it under a deep blue sky.
A uncommon tiger with extensive, darkish stripes wanders a tiger reserve in India. | © Prasenjeet Yadav (India), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A bear with a pale snout lies inside a rusty metal chamber, surrounded by debris and a partially open door, appearing to peer out cautiously. Wires and greenery are visible in the background.
A solar bear shelters from the rain in a furnace as a butterfly settles on its snout. | © Mogens Trolle (Denmark), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Close-up of a polar bear walking on snow, with its face and one paw prominently visible. The bear's white fur blends with the snowy background.
A polar bear cub seems into the digicam because it accompanies its mom on an unsuccessful looking journey. | © Nima Sarikhani (UK), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Aerial view of a polar bear lying on the ground with three polar bear cubs cuddling closely against her on rocky, mossy terrain.
A mom polar bear and her three cubs pause peacefully in the summertime warmth. | © Christopher Paetkau (Canada), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two bear cubs stand on their hind legs facing each other on a road, seemingly playing, while a car with headlights on waits behind them in a forested area.
A silhouetted pair of younger bear cubs rear up and play-fight in the course of a quiet highway. | © Will Nicholls (UK), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two soldiers in camouflage uniforms pose with rifles in front of a large pile of rusty scrap metal under a clear blue sky, with trees and greenery visible in the background.
A mountainous pile of confiscated snares lies behind Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers. | © Adam Oswell (Australia), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A wet otter stands in shallow water, holding and eating something with its paws. Its fur glistens and drops of water hang from its mouth, with blurred green foliage in the background.
A leucistic otter feeds on a catfish in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. | © Daniela Anger (Germany), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two possums are perched on a tree branch at night; one is standing upright on the branch while the other is hanging upside down below it. The background is dark with shadowy trees.
A brushtail possum joey mirrors its mom climbing a department whereas out foraging. | © Charles Davis (Australia), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two flamingos fly above a large flock of flamingos gathered in a water channel, flanked by rows of power lines and utility poles stretching into the distance at sunset.
A gaggle of flamingos stands out in opposition to a stark industrial backdrop of energy traces. | © Alexandre Brisson (Switzerland), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A large pod of dolphins swims together underwater in clear blue ocean, with sunlight streaming down from the surface above.
A spectacular superpod of spinner dolphins herds lanternfish in direction of the floor of the ocean. | © Cecile Gabillon (France), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A fluffy crane chick with an open beak sits on the back of an adult crane with a red-crowned head. The adult and chick face each other closely against a soft, blurred background.
A sarus crane mother or father shares an intimate and shifting second with its one-week-old chick. | © Ponlawat Thaipinnarong (Thailand), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A long-tailed hummingbird with iridescent green and blue feathers hovers in midair, feeding from a purple flower, with a blurred green background.
A male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird reveals off its lengthy tail whereas it feeds on flowers. | © Dustin Chen (UK), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A bird with vibrant purple tail feathers stands on the forest floor, holding an insect in its beak. Sunlight highlights the bird and nearby leaves, while the background is shadowy and green.
An elusive rufous-vented floor cuckoo plucks up a cicada within the depths of the rainforest in Costa Rica. | © Lior Berman (Costa Rica), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Five young birds of prey perch closely together at the edge of a brick building’s gutter under the roof, looking outward. The wall is made of red bricks with visible mortar lines.
Three younger kestrels put together to leap from their nest to a close-by beam. | © Peter Lindel (Germany), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Aerial view of a solar farm with rows of blue solar panels arranged in geometric patterns, separated by grassy pathways and scattered with a few trees.
Rows of photo voltaic panels stretch throughout the panorama like ripples on a water’s floor. | © Francesco Russo (UK/Italy), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A close-up of a brown, camouflaged spider resting on a twig, its body and legs covered in textured, bark-like patterns blending with the wood against a dark background.
A tiny male sits on the stomach of a well-camouflaged feminine broad-headed bark spider, ready till she moults and is able to mate. | © Artur Tomaszek (Poland), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A deer with antlers entangled in the skull and antlers of another deer, set against a plain white background.
A sika deer carries the interlocked severed head of a rival male that had died after their battle. | © Kohei Nagira (Japan), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Close-up of a spider holding a cluster of translucent eggs with its legs, showing fine details of its body, legs, and the round eggs against a blurred brown background.
A cellar spider, generally often called a daddy long-legs, carries a ball of treasured eggs in its mouth. | © Thomas Hunt (UK), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A lion-tailed macaque walks forward on a forest path, carrying its baby clinging to its underside. The background is blurred with green foliage and scattered brown leaves on the ground.
The placing eyes of a curious lion-tailed macaque and its toddler are on show because it races alongside a path. | © Lalith Ekanyake (Sri Lanka), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Many of the images are usually not solely distinctive from a creative and technical perspective but additionally shed important gentle on vital conservation matters. For instance, one of many photos above reveals a pangolin pup at a rescue heart in South Africa. Pangolins are among the many most closely trafficked animals on the planet, and this poor pup was orphaned after its mom was poached. The pup miraculously survived.

Another photograph doesn’t function wildlife itself in any respect. It is a portrait of a Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger standing in entrance of a large pile of unlawful snares that the rangers had confiscated throughout only one yr at Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda.

Another eye-catching photograph doesn’t embrace any seen animals in any respect. An aerial photograph of a photo voltaic panel farm within the United Kingdom reveals how the panels are organized round pastureland, highlighting the usually advanced relationship between folks and nature.

Online voting for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026 is open now and runs till March 18, 2026. The winner and 4 runners-up will likely be introduced per week later, on March 25, and the profitable shot will be part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

Image credit: Wildlife Photographer of the Year; Natural History Museum, London. Individual photographers are credited within the picture captions.


This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you’ll be able to go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://petapixel.com/2026/02/03/the-final-24-images-of-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2025/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us

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