Photography

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

A collection of some of this year’s winning and honored images, selected from more than 60,000 entries

By Alan Taylor
A brown hyena wanders among the ruins of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in South Africa.
© Wim van den Heever / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Ghost Town Visitor. Winner, Urban Wildlife. A brown hyena wanders among the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in South Africa.
An orb weaver spider on its web, silhouetted by colorful lights
© Simone Baumeister / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Caught in the Headlights. Winner, Natural Artistry. Simone Baumeister shows an orb weaver spider on its web on a pedestrian bridge, silhouetted by lights from the cars below.
An egret flaps its wings just above the water's surface as a large fish splashes and swallows a smaller fish just below.
© Qingrong Yang / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Synchronised Fishing. Winner, Behavior: Birds. Qingrong Yang perfects photographic timing to show a ladyfish snatching its prey from right under this little egret’s beak. Location: Yundang Lake, Fujian Province, China.
A gathering of small tree frogs on broad leaves
© Quentin Martinez / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Frolicking Frogs. Winner, Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles. Quentin Martinez discovered a gathering of lesser tree frogs in a breeding event. Location: Kaw Mountain, French Guiana.
A large wild cat—a caracal—carries a bloodied flamingo in its mouth as it walks across a muddy plain.
© Dennis Stogsdill / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Cat Amongst the Flamingos. Winner, Behavior: Mammals. Dennis Stogsdill witnessed a caracal hunting a lesser flamingo in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
On a foggy day, an ibex rests atop one of many large rocks on a mountain.
© Lubin Godin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Alpine Dawn. Winner, 11–14 Years. Lubin Godin found himself in mist-shrouded mountains with silhouetted ibex. Godin spotted the Alpine ibex resting above a sea of clouds during an early morning ascent. As the mist rose and the sun broke over the crags, he retraced his steps to capture this ethereal moment before fog thickened and the light faded. Location: Col de la Colombière, Haute-Savoie, France.
A young anteater follows a human caregiver in a rehabilitation center.
© Fernando Faciole / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Orphan of the Road. Highly Commended, Photojournalism Impact Award Winner 2025. Fernando Faciole watched an orphaned giant anteater pup follow its caregiver after an evening feed at a rehabilitation center. Faciole wanted to highlight the consequences of road collisions, a leading cause of the decline in giant anteater numbers in Brazil. This 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.
A close view of several pitcher plants, glowing colorfully under ultraviolet light.
© Chien Lee / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Deadly Allure. Winner, Plants and Fungi. Chien Lee used an ultraviolet light to reveal the fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia.
A small owl perches on a branch, holding a small rodent between its talons.
© Luca Lorenz / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Sole Survivor. A selection from from the portfolio Watchful Moments by Luca Lorenz, Winner, Rising Star Award. Lorenz had been watching a tree hole where this Eurasian pygmy owl and its mate were nesting. When one disappeared, the other continued feeding the chicks. On this day, the remaining bird returned clutching the chicks’ breakfast in its claws, and called for its mate, but there was no reply.
A harbor seal pokes its head above water, the ocean's surface disturbed by countless splashes from raindrops.
© Luca Lorenz / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Seal Serenity. A selection from from the portfolio Watchful Moments by Luca Lorenz, Winner, Rising Star Award. When the heavens opened, Lorenz was out with his camera. He minimized the lens aperture to ensure the full expanse of the sea was in focus and framed an inquisitive harbor seal enjoying the patter of the rain.
A very close view of a caterpillar, seen head-on, with a series of old moltings attached to its head, looking like an odd stack of hats.
© Georgina Steytler / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Mad Hatterpillar. Winner, Behavior: Invertebrates. Georgina Steytler showcases the strange headgear of a gum-leaf skeletonizer caterpillar. This caterpillar’s unusual headgear is made up of old head capsules, each retained with every molt. The resulting tower is believed to help deflect attacks by predators. Location: Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia, Australia.
A blackbird stands on a grassy open area in a park; the distant silhouettes of several deer loom behind it.
© Luca Lorenz / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Dawn Watch. A selection from from the portfolio Watchful Moments by Luca Lorenz, Winner, Rising Star Award. Lorenz was lying flat on the dewy grass for a better perspective of one of this park’s ubiquitous blackbirds when four deer emerged from the mist and stopped to assess the situation.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London. Captions are provided by the photographers and WPY organizers, and are lightly edited for style.

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.