Capturing Ecology Photo Contest 2025 Winners Show the Wonders of Nature
The British Ecological Society has announced the winners of its annual Capturing Ecology photography competition, showcasing the best images captured by international ecologists and photographers. Among the winning shots are an American crocodile staring down the lens, a flying frog, and a chimpanzee rescue mission.
Zeke Rowe, a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, captured this year’s overall winning photo. Rowe’s photo shows an American crocodile looking straight at him, with piercing golden eyes, and, most interesting of all, seven horseflies sitting on the crocodile’s scales, right between its eyes, feeding on its blood. It’s an interesting juxtaposition that caught the judges’ eyes.
“I’ve been a photographer for a couple of years but only gained the confidence to submit my photos to competitions recently, fearing my work wasn’t good enough. Winning my first competition has shown me that sometimes all it takes is some belief, and I am proud of myself for doing so,” Rowe says.
“I took this photo while on a break from research in Panama’s Coiba National Park. This crocodile was lurking in a tidal marsh off the beach. I got as close and low as I dared, waiting for that direct eye contact.”
Category Winners
Alongside Rowe’s overall winning photo, the Capturing Ecology judges also selected winners across eight categories: Animals; Plants and Fungi; Interactions; Ecologists in Action; People and Nature; Nature, Food and Farming; Mobile Ecology; and Up Close. There is also an Ecologists’ Choice Award, selected by ecologists at the British Ecological Society’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Edinburgh.
“The incredible images in this year’s Capturing Ecology are a perfect demonstration of how photography can transport us around the world, allowing us to glimpse the everyday wonders and dramatic moments of ecology,” says Professor Melanie Austen, President of the British Ecological Society.
“The British Ecological Society is a truly global community, so it brings me great joy to see such diversity in this year’s entries, from coral claiming abandoned bottles in the Philippines, to mudflats in British Columbia and then to the green sheen of intertidal seagrass meadows closer to my home in the Tamar estuary.”
All eight category winners plus the Ecologists’ Choice Award are featured below.
Highly Commended Images
Alongside the category winners above, the competition’s judges also selected 17 “Highly commended” photos, all of which are featured below.
“The winners and highly commended entries are all thoroughly deserving, capturing not just iconic, but often fleeting moments in nature. Collectively, the images draw attention to the fragile state of nature and reinforce the need for a stronger connection with the animals with whom we share our planet,” adds competition judge, Harriet McAra, Communications and Events Manager at Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
Image credits: British Ecological Society. All photographers are credited in the individual image captions.
