Breathtaking Animal Images Shine in Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Aug 28, 2024

A black-and-white photograph captures an intense moment between two lions. The male lion, with a flowing mane, roars fiercely while standing over a reclining lioness that is also roaring back. The dramatic sky and open savannah landscape add to the tension of the scene. — Mating lions in the Serengeti National Park bicker in front of a dramatic sky. | William Fortescue / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

These spellbinding photographs have all been Highly Commended in the sixtieth Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition held by London’s Natural History Museum.

The landmark edition of the contest attracted a record-breaking 59,228 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 117 different countries and territories.

The finalists include an image taken on an iPhone XR — marking the first time a smartphone photographer has made it to the Highly Commended level. The striking photo, taken by Randy Robbins, shows a frozen deer in California.

A white weasel with a black-tipped tail is captured mid-air in a snowy landscape, seemingly leaping high while looking upwards with its mouth open. The background is a soft blur of snow, providing a serene and cool atmosphere. — A stoat leaps into the air above a snowy scene in France. 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. | Jose Manuel Grandío / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A group of bees, predominantly in brown and yellow hues, engaged in a lively scuffle on sandy ground. Dust and sand particles are being kicked up around them, creating a dynamic and chaotic scene. A few bees are mid-air, captured in various stages of flight. — Male Dawson’s burrowing bees vye for access to a female in Australia. 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. | Georgina Steytler / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A jaguar is seen in the water with its jaws clamped onto the back of a caiman's neck. Both animals are partially submerged, and the jaguar's intense gaze is directed towards the camera. The background is a muddy riverbank with dense vegetation. — A jaguar delivers a fatal bite to a caiman in the Pantanal, Brazil. A call over the radio alerted photographer Ian Ford 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. | Ian Ford / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A partially snow-covered animal skull lies on a ground of frosty, withered grass and leaves. The cold has given a white dusting to the surrounding vegetation. The skull has prominent ears, indicating it might be from a deer or similar creature. — The frozen body of a deer lies on the forest floor near Susanville, California. Taken on an iPhone XR. | Randy Robbins / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A great white shark leaps out of the water, hitting the side of a boat. A person in a wetsuit peers out from an open window, watching the dramatic scene unfold. The boat's exterior is weathered and covered in algae. — This requiem shark is the victim of a bycatch. Photographer Tommy Trenchard was on a Greenpeace ship documenting the accidental capture of sharks by fishing boats targeting tuna and swordfish. Approximately 80 million sharks are taken from the world’s oceans every year. Because of fishing, numbers of sharks worldwide has dropped since 1970. Three-quarters of all shark species are now at risk of extinction. | Tommy Trenchard / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A Pallas's cat, or manul, stands on a rocky terrain with patches of snow. Its thick fur appears fluffy, and it gazes intently at the camera. Behind the cat, a bright full moon glows against a twilight sky, creating a striking backdrop. Photographed by Xinghao Zhu. — The Moon sets behind a Pallas’s cat on a freezing plateau in Mongolia as the feline sits pretty with its catch. 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. | Xingchao Zhu / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Two birds stand on a path in a dark, misty forest. The pathway is illuminated by soft, warm light in the distance, framed by dense trees whose branches create a natural archway overhead. The scene exudes a sense of mystery and calm. — Two Indian peafowl in an idyllic forest in Rajasthan, India. Runner up in the 10 Years and Under category. | Shreyovi Mehta / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Two fluffy baby owls perched on a tree branch covered in green foliage. One owl has its eyes open and leans its head gently against the other owl, which has its eyes closed. Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting a serene glow on the scene. — Two tawny outlets people watch from a branch in Munich, Germany. Highly Commended in the 10 Years and Under category. | Sasha Jumanca / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A large, hairy spider with long legs and a striped pattern on its body is hanging upside down from a moss-covered branch. The background is dark, highlighting the spider's intricate details and textures. A small web strand is visible near the spider. — A David Bowie spider (not from Mars) carries an egg sac in the highlands of Malaysia. 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. | Lam Soon Tak / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A close-up of a bird with striking blue-gray plumage and white eyes holding a collection of pebbles in its beak. The background is softly blurred with shades of green and yellow. The credit "© Samuel Stone" appears vertically along the right edge. — A jackdaw bringing stones to its nest in London’s Bushy Park. | Samual Stone / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

An aerial view of two seals resting among fragmented ice sheets in cold, icy waters. The ice forms irregular shapes, creating a natural pattern around the seals. The image is credited to Tamara Stubbs and Atlantic Productions. — Crabeater seals move among the sea ice in the Antarctic. | Tamara Stubbs / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A rocky beach features clusters of black mussels attached to the stones. In the background, jagged rock formations rise from the ocean against an overcast sky. Waves gently lap at the shore. The rugged landscape creates a dramatic coastal scene. — Mussels bind together to avoid being washed away from the shoreline in Portugal. 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, and extracting plankton as well as bacteria and toxins, which prevents them from building up to dangerous levels. | Theo Bosboom / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A massive iceberg floats in the ocean, surrounded by dark water. The surface of the iceberg is stark white and cracked, with a noticeable crevice running through the middle, and water cascading off it into the surrounding sea. The sky above is overcast. — 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. | Thomas Vijayan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition will be announced on October 8 at a ceremony. Then, from October 11, 100 photographs from the contest will be displayed at the Natural History Museum in London. An exhibition marking the key moments from the competition’s 60-year history will run concurrently.

Features, Spotlight

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