South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever has been crowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 for his extraordinary image titled "Ghost Town Visitor." The powerful photograph captures a brown hyena wandering through the haunting remains of Kolmanskop, a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Namibia. Van den Heever's winning shot was selected from more than 60,000 entries in the prestigious global competition, now in its 61st year and recognized as the world's largest nature photography contest.
The remarkable photograph represents an incredible decade-long journey of patience and determination. Brown hyenas are nocturnal, mostly solitary creatures that are quite rare, making them extremely challenging to photograph. According to competition organizers, van den Heever first noticed hyena tracks at the Kolmanskop site and spent ten years using camera trap technology before finally capturing this single, perfect shot. His persistence paid off magnificently, earning him not only the overall prize but also the Urban Wildlife category award.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London, aims to showcase the world's finest nature photography and wildlife photojournalism. The contest welcomes photographers of all ages, nationalities, and experience levels, creating a diverse and competitive field that spans the globe.
This year's competition featured winners across numerous specialized categories, each showcasing different aspects of wildlife and nature photography. In the Animals in their Environment category, Shane Gross from Canada won with "Like an Eel out of Water," featuring a peppered moray eel hunting for carrion during low tide. The Animal Portraits category was claimed by Philipp Egger from Italy with "Shadow Hunter," capturing the mesmerizing orange glint of an eagle owl's eyes illuminated by evening light.
Bird behavior was brilliantly captured in the Behaviour: Birds category by Qingrong Yang from China with "Synchronised Fishing," showing a dramatic moment when a ladyfish snatches its prey from directly beneath a little egret's beak. Meanwhile, Dennis Stogsdill from the USA won the Behaviour: Mammals category with "Cat Amongst the Flamingos," documenting a caracal hunting a lesser flamingo in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park.
The amphibians and reptiles were represented by Quentin Martinez from France, whose "Frolicking Frogs" captured a gathering of lesser tree frogs during a breeding event in the Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles category. Australian photographer Georgina Steytler won the Behaviour: Invertebrates section with "Mad Hatterpillar," showcasing the bizarre headgear of a gum-leaf skeletonizer caterpillar.
Marine life featured prominently in several categories, with Audun Rickardsen from Norway taking the Oceans: The Bigger Picture award for "The Feast," which documents feeding time near an Atlantic fishing vessel during a polar night in northern Norway. Ralph Pace from the USA won the Underwater category with "Survival Purse," beautifully illuminating the egg case of a swell shark tethered to giant kelp.
The Plants and Fungi category was won by Chien Lee from Malaysia with "Deadly Allure," revealing the fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant exposed using UV torch technology. Simone Baumeister from Germany claimed the Natural Artistry prize with "Caught in the Headlights," featuring an orb weaver spider silhouetted on its web by car lights below a pedestrian bridge.
Environmental storytelling was highlighted in the Wetlands: The Bigger Picture category, won by Sebastian Frölich from Germany with "Vanishing Pond," showing a springtail among neon green gas bubbles in Austrian moorlands. The important Photojournalism category went to Jon A Juárez from Spain for "How to Save a Species," documenting the process of saving northern white rhinos from extinction through in vitro fertilization.
Several special awards recognized different aspects of wildlife photography and conservation. The Photojournalist Story Award was presented to Javier Aznar González de Rueda from Spain for "End of the Round-Up," capturing the dangerous process of milking venom from an eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Fernando Faciole from Brazil received the Impact Award for "Orphan of the Road," showing an orphaned giant anteater pup following its caregiver after an evening feeding.
Young photographers were well-represented across age categories, demonstrating the next generation's remarkable talent. Luca Lorenz from Germany won the Rising Star Award with "Watchful Moments," featuring a coypu (a South American rodent) that unexpectedly appeared while he was photographing swans. The Portfolio Award went to Alexey Kharitonov from Israel/Russia for "Visions of the North," showcasing a small lake surrounded by trees and grassy hills.
In the youth categories, Jamie Smart from the UK won the 10 Years and Under division with "The Weaver's Lair," capturing an orb weaver spider inside its silken retreat on a cold September morning. Lubin Godin from France took the 11 to 14 Years category with "Alpine Dawn," showing an alpine ibex resting above a sea of clouds. The prestigious Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 award in the 15 to 17 Years category went to Andrea Dominizi from Italy for "After the Destruction," featuring a longhorn beetle near abandoned machinery in central Italy's Lepini Mountains.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition continues to serve as a powerful platform for showcasing the beauty, diversity, and fragility of our natural world, inspiring conservation efforts and fostering appreciation for wildlife across all continents and ecosystems.
