Powerful Photo Competition Focuses on Nature’s Death and Decay

Matt Growcoot
A collage of three photos: a bird chick underwater, a hyena carrying a zebra leg in its mouth, and an insect hanging from a thread, raising one leg.
Left to right: Gael Modrak, Willem Kruger, and Ken Bluma

Nature’s not all baby elephants and clumsy ducklings — it can be raw, intense, and gruesome. Step forward the winners of the annual themed challenge from Close-up Photographer of the Year (CUPOTY). This year’s theme? “Death and Decay.”

Warning: Some readers may find these photos disturbing.

Willem Kruger from South Africa has won this year’s challenge for his grisly image of a hyena carrying the severed head of a zebra in Kruger National Park. The competition calls it a “visceral reminder that in nature, almost nothing goes to waste.”

A hyena walks on a dirt path carrying a partially eaten zebra leg in its mouth, showing the striped limb and exposed flesh.
A spotted hyena carries the head of a zebra through Kruger National Park, South Africa. Winner of the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Willem Kruger / CUPOTY

“Early one morning during a game drive in Kruger National Park, my wife and I came across three spotted hyenas walking along the road. One was carrying the head of a zebra, presumably from a nearby lion kill, and was heading straight towards us,” says winner Willem Kruger. “In nature, almost nothing goes to waste — even hyenas have a family to feed, and they do it with remarkable commitment.”

The CUPOTY challenge runs alongside the main annual Close-up Photographer of the Year competition, which opens in May. It runs throughout November and the theme is chosen by the CUPOTY community. As the winner, Willem Kruger receives £300 ($400) and will be featured in the CUPOTY ebook of 2026.

A smaller brown frog clings to the back of a larger pale frog as they float together in green, algae-filled water.
A common toad embraces a dead female in a pool in the Sierra Blanca natural area, southern Spain. Runner-up in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada / CUPOTY
A fluffy gray bird chick lies on the ground underwater with sunlight streaming down, surrounded by aquatic plants and roots.
A dead waterfowl chick lying underwater in a pond in Viry-Chatillon, near Paris, France. Third place in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Gael Modrak / CUPOTY
A close-up of an unusual creature with the body and legs of a spider and the head of an octopus, featuring eight spider eyes and textured brown legs on a rough, earthy surface.
A fishing spider feeding on a freshly caught froglet on Nosy Komba island, Madagascar. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Emanuele Biggi / CUPOTY
A colorful American kestrel stands on a stone post with a small bird in its talons. Feathers from its prey float in the air around them against a blurred background.
An American kestrel plucking a sparrow on top of a gravestone in a cemetery in Massachusetts, USA. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Jason Gilbody / CUPOTY
A black and white photo of a leafless tree standing in water, framed by the twisted, textured edges of large pieces of driftwood in the foreground. The background is completely dark, highlighting the tree's branches.
Dead trees on the edge of the Zahara de la Sierra reservoir, southern Spain, photographed at night using a dual focal-length long-exposure technique. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada / CUPOTY
A close-up of a weevil dangling from a thin thread against a black background, displaying its long snout and textured body with legs spread out.
The hollowed-out exoskeleton of an acorn weevil suspended on a strand of silk in Spring Grove, Illinois, USA. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Ken Bluma / CUPOTY
A duck stands on icy ground with its head and yellow beak facing the camera. The ice beneath is textured with cracks and air bubbles, creating a blue, frosty background.
A dead mallard drake frozen into the ice of a small lake in Follo, Norway. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Pal Hermansen / CUPOTY
A close-up of a yellow crab spider preying on a bee, both on a bright yellow flower with visible pollen on the bee's body and wings. The background is softly blurred in light blue and green tones.
A flower crab spider (Thomisus onustus) feeding on a bee on a flower in Crete, Greece. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Pete Burford / CUPOTY
A close-up of a large insect trapped on the sticky tendrils of a carnivorous sundew plant, with droplets glistening on the plant’s surface and a blurred green and yellow background.
A cranefly captured by a carnivorous sundew plant in a garden in Staffordshire, England. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Ed Phillips / CUPOTY
A close-up of a large, dark moth clinging to a twig with yellowish, spiky protrusions on its body. The background is dark with a moss-covered tree trunk visible on the right.
The fruiting body of an entomopathogenic fungus emerging from the dead body of a moth in humid woodland near Licenza, central Italy. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Emanuele Biggi / CUPOTY
A hawk with wings spread wide clutches a small rodent in its yellow talons, set against a dark, shadowy forest background at night.
A pygmy owl carrying prey to its nest, photographed from below in Follo, Norway. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Pal Hermansen / CUPOTY
Close-up image of a chocolate brown mushroom-like fungus with a tall, cylindrical stalk and clustered round spore heads on top, growing from mossy ground.
A chocolate slime mould on a decaying log in Freeport Community Park, Pennsylvania, USA. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Nelson Milano / CUPOTY
A close-up of an insect with iridescent, heart-shaped wings hanging upside down from a thin thread against a black background, with two smaller insects nearby.
An aphid gives birth while suspended from a single strand of spider’s web in a garden in Dalfsen, the Netherlands. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Sophie Mijnhout / CUPOTY
Several butterflies, including bright orange and dark blue ones, rest on a dead snake lying on a wet, winding road surrounded by lush green vegetation.
Butterflies drawing sap and nutrients from a road-killed snake in Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India. Finalist in the Death and Decay CUPOTY challenge. © Indranil Basu Mallick / CUPOTY

The full gallery of winning and finalist images can be viewed online here.

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