The 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has announced its winners, with South African photographer Wim van den Heever claiming the grand prize for his extraordinary photograph titled "Ghost Town Visitor." The winning image captures a brown hyena exploring the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia, creating a hauntingly beautiful scene that took a decade of patience to achieve.
Van den Heever's photograph showcases one of the world's rarest hyenas, known for their nocturnal and solitary nature. The photographer used camera trap technology to capture this single, perfect shot after years of waiting. "How fitting that this photograph was made in a ghost town," said Kathy Moran, Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury. "You get a prickly feeling just looking at this image, and you know that you're in this hyena's realm."
The competition, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London, received a record-breaking 60,636 entries from 113 countries and territories. The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award went to Italian photographer Andrea Dominizi for his powerful image "After The Destruction," which highlights habitat loss by featuring a longhorn beetle framed against abandoned machinery in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy, an area once logged for its ancient beech trees.
Brazilian photographer Fernando Faciole won the Impact Award for "Orphan Of The Road," which recognizes conservation success stories and positive change. His touching photograph shows an orphaned giant anteater pup following its caregiver after an evening feeding at a rehabilitation center, symbolizing hope for wildlife conservation efforts.
The competition featured multiple categories showcasing diverse wildlife photography. In the Animals in their Environment category, Shane Gross won with "Like an Eel Out Of Water," capturing a peppered moray eel hunting for carrion at low tide in D'Arros Island, Seychelles. Italian photographer Philipp Egger took the Animal Portraits prize with "Shadow Hunter," featuring the mesmerizing orange eyes of an eagle owl illuminated by evening light.
The Behavior categories highlighted fascinating animal interactions across different species. Frenchman Quentin Martinez's "Frolicking Frogs" showed lesser tree frogs during a breeding event in French Guiana's Kaw Mountain. Chinese photographer Qingrong Yang captured perfect timing in "Synchronized Fishing," showing a ladyfish snatching prey from under a little egret's beak in Yundang Lake, Fujian Province.
Australian photographer Georgina Steytler won the Behavior: Invertebrates category with "Mad Hatterpillar," showcasing the bizarre headgear of a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar in Western Australia. Dennis Stogsdill's dramatic "Cat Amongst The Flamingos" captured a caracal hunting a lesser flamingo in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, winning the Behavior: Mammals category.
The underwater and marine photography categories produced stunning results. Ralph Pace's "Survival Purse" illuminated a swell shark's egg case tethered to giant kelp in California's Monterey Bay. Norwegian photographer Audun Rikardsen documented "The Feast," showing feeding activity around an Atlantic fishing vessel during a polar night in northern Norway, winning the Oceans: The Bigger Picture category.
Artistic and technical excellence was recognized across multiple specialized categories. German photographer Simone Baumeister won Natural Artistry with her silhouette of an orb weaver spider on a pedestrian bridge in Ibbenburen, backlit by car lights below. Chien Lee used UV torch technology to reveal the fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant in Kuching, Malaysia, for his winning "Deadly Allure" in the Plants and Fungi category.
The Portfolio Award went to self-taught Russian photographer Alexey Kharitonov for his artistic exploration of remote regions in the Russian North, Siberia, and Asia. His featured image, "Eye Of The Tundra," shows a spectacular 30-meter-wide thermokarst lake, demonstrating his mastery of landscape wildlife photography.
Photojournalism categories highlighted conservation and human-wildlife relationships. Spanish photographer Javier Aznar González de Rueda explored the complex relationship between humans and rattlesnakes across the United States, with his image "From Venom To Medicine" showing deadly venom being extracted to produce life-saving antivenom. Jon A. Juárez documented groundbreaking science in Kenya with "How To Save A Species," featuring a southern white rhino fetus resulting from the first successful rhino embryo transfer through IVF.
Young photographers demonstrated exceptional talent across age categories. In the 10 Years and Under division, Jamie Smart captured "Caught In The Headlights," perfectly lighting and framing an orb weaver spider in its silken retreat during a cold September morning in mid-Wales. French youngster Lubin Godin won the 11-14 Years category with "Alpine Dawn," featuring silhouetted ibex in mist-shrouded mountains.
All winning photographs will be showcased in a special exhibition at London's Natural History Museum starting Friday, allowing visitors to experience these remarkable images that celebrate the beauty, diversity, and conservation challenges facing wildlife around the world. The exhibition represents the culmination of the world's most prestigious wildlife photography competition, inspiring both photographers and nature enthusiasts globally.
