The Final 24 Images of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

Feb 03, 2026

Jeremy Gray

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 different countries entered a record-setting 60,636 photos to the 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 2025. The outstanding contest winners were unveiled last fall, but now it’s time for the people to have their say. One of these 24 beautiful wildlife photos will win the prestigious People’s Choice Award, and voting is open now.

This year’s People’s Choice Award is presented by Nuveen, the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. The exhibition not only appears at the Natural History Museum in London but also travels internationally to Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and more locations worldwide.

The Natural History Museum, London, and an international panel of photography, wildlife, conservation, and science experts selected the two dozen shortlisted photographs below. Subjects range from teeny-tiny critters like bug nymphs, spiders, and hummingbirds to big, powerful predators like polar bears, lions, and tigers, with all sorts of wonderful 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 mother cradles her young 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 remains motionless in a flower, waiting for prey to wander within reach. | © 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 ride 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 young lynx playfully throws a rodent into the air before 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 warmth 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 rare tiger with wide, dark 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 sun 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 looks into the camera as it accompanies its mother on an unsuccessful hunting trip. | © 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 mother polar bear and her three cubs pause peacefully in the summer heat. | © 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 young bear cubs rear up and play-fight in the middle of a quiet road. | © 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 mother climbing a branch while 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 group of flamingos stands out against a stark industrial backdrop of power lines. | © 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 towards the surface 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 parent shares an intimate and moving moment 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 shows off its long tail while 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 ground cuckoo plucks up a cicada in 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 young kestrels prepare to leap from their nest to a nearby 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 solar panels stretch across the landscape like ripples on a water’s surface. | © 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 abdomen of a well-camouflaged female broad-headed bark spider, waiting until she moults and is ready 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, sometimes known as a daddy long-legs, carries a ball of precious 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 striking eyes of a curious lion-tailed macaque and its infant are on display as it races along a path. | © Lalith Ekanyake (Sri Lanka), courtesy Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Many of the photos are not only exceptional from an artistic and technical perspective but also shed vital light on important conservation topics. For example, one of the images above shows a pangolin pup at a rescue center in South Africa. Pangolins are among the most heavily trafficked animals in the world, and this poor pup was orphaned after its mother was poached. The pup miraculously survived.

Another photo doesn’t feature wildlife itself at all. It is a portrait of a Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger standing in front of a massive pile of illegal snares that the rangers had confiscated during just one year at Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda.

Another eye-catching photo doesn’t include any visible animals at all. An aerial photo of a solar panel farm in the United Kingdom shows how the panels are organized around pastureland, highlighting the often complex relationship between people and nature.

Online voting for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026 is open now and runs until March 18, 2026. The winner and four runners-up will be announced a week later, on March 25, and the winning shot will join the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

Image credits: Wildlife Photographer of the Year; Natural History Museum, London. Individual photographers are credited in the image captions.