Outstanding Winning Photos from the 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has revealed its outstanding winners, chosen from a staggering 59,228 submissions from 117 countries. Organized by the Natural History Museum, this prestigious competition highlights the beauty and fragility of the natural world through the lens of talented photographers. Shane Gross, a Canadian marine conservation photojournalist, was named the overall winner for his breathtaking image, "The Swarm of Life." The photograph captures the captivating underwater scene of western toad tadpoles, showcasing the mesmerizing patterns and vibrancy of aquatic life. Gross’s image stood out for its striking composition and storytelling, earning him the top honor.

Alongside Gross’s winning shot, a collection of the top 100 images will be on display at the Natural History Museum in London until June 29, 2025. These photos represent the pinnacle of wildlife photography, with each image telling a unique story of nature’s wonders and challenges. The exhibition is a celebration of nature’s diversity, from breathtaking landscapes to intimate moments with wildlife. With contributions from photographers across the globe, the competition offers a powerful reminder of the importance of conservation and the role photography plays in inspiring environmental action.

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#1 Overall Winner: "The Swarm Of Life" By Shane Gross, Canada

"Shane Gross looks under the surface layer of lily pads as a mass of western toad tadpoles swim past. Shane snorkelled in the lake for several hours, through carpets of lily pads. This prevented any disturbance of the fine layers of silt and algae covering the lake bottom, which would have reduced visibility. Western toad tadpoles swim up from the safer depths of the lake, dodging predators and trying to reach the shallows, where they can feed. The tadpoles start becoming toads between four and 12 weeks after hatching. An estimated 99% will not survive to adulthood."

#2. Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians And Reptiles: "Wetland Wrestle" By Karine Aigner, USA

"Karine Aigner recognises the skin of a yellow anaconda as it coils itself around the snout of a yacaré caiman.
The tour group Karine was leading had stopped to photograph some marsh deer when she noticed an odd shape floating in the water. Through binoculars, Karine quickly recognised the reptiles and watched as they struggled with each other.
Caimans are generalist feeders and will eat snakes. As anacondas get larger, they will include reptiles in their diet. It’s hard to determine who is the aggressor here. On the snake’s back are two tabanids, blood-sucking horsefliesthat are known to target reptiles."

#3. Winner, Animals In Their Environment: "Frontier Of The Lynx" By Igor Metelskiy, Russia

"Igor Metelskiy shows a lynx stretching in the early evening sunshine, its body mirroring the undulating wilderness. The remote location and changing weather conditions made access to this spot– and transporting equipment there – a challenge. Igor positioned his camera trap near the footprints of potential prey. It took more than six months of waiting to achieve this relaxed image of the elusive lynx. A survey carried out in 2013 estimated the entire Russian lynx population was around 22,500 individuals, with numbers for the Russian Far East, including those in Primorsky Krai, at 5,890."

#4. Winner, Behaviour: Birds: "Practice Makes Perfect" By Jack Zhi, USA

"Jack Zhi enjoys watching a young falcon practicing its hunting skills on a butterfly, above its sea-cliff nest. Jack has been visiting this area for the past eight years, observing the constant presence of one of the birds and photographing the chicks. On this day it was a challenge to track the action because the birds were so fast. Should this young peregrine falcon make it to adulthood, tests have shown it will be capable of stooping or dropping down on its prey from above, at speed of more than 300 kilometres per hour (186 miles per hour)."

#5. Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates: "The Demolition Squad" By Ingo Arndt, Germany

"Ingo Arndt documents the efficient dismemberment of a blue ground beetle by wood ants.‘Full of ant’ is how Ingo described himself after lying next to the ants’ nest for just a few minutes. Ingo watched as the red wood ants carved an already dead beetle into pieces small enough to fit through the entrance to their nest. Much of the red wood ants’ nourishment comes from honeydew secreted by aphids, but they also need protein. They are capable of killing insects and other invertebrates much larger than themselves through sheer strength in numbers."

#6. Winner, Animal Portraits: "On Watch" By John E Marriott, Canada

"John E Marriott frames a lynx resting, with its fully grown young sheltering from the cold wind behind it. John had been tracking this family group for almost a week, wearing snowshoes and carrying light camera gear to make his way through snowy forests. When fresh tracks led him to the group, he kept his distance to make sure he didn’t disturb them. Lynx numbers usually reflect the natural population fluctuations of their main prey species, the snowshoe hare. With climate change reducing snow coverage, giving other predators more opportunities to hunt the hares, hare populations may decline, in turn affecting the lynx population."

#7. Winner, Photojournalism: "Dusting For New Evidence" By Britta Jaschinski, Germany/UK

"Britta Jaschinski looks on as a crime scene investigator from London’sMetropolitan Police dusts for prints on a confiscated tusk.
Britta spent time at the CITES Border Force department where confiscated animal products are tested. Newly developed magnetic powder allows experts to obtain fingerprints from ivory up to 28 days after it was touched, increasing the chances of identifying those involved in its illegal trade. The International Fund for Animal Welfare has distributed more than 200 specially created kits to border forces from 40 countries. They have been instrumental in four cases that resulted in 15 arrests."

#8. Winner, Urban Wildlife: "Tiger In Town" By Robin Darius Conz, Germany

"Robin Darius Conz watches a tiger on a hillside against the backdrop of a town where forests once grew. Robin was following this tiger as part of a documentary team filming the wildlife of the Western Ghats. On this day, he used a drone to watch the tiger explore its territory before it settled in this spot. The protected areas in the Western Ghats, where tigers are carefully monitored, are some of the most biodiverse landscapes in India and have a stable population of tigers. Outside these areas, where development has created conflict between humans and wildlife, tiger occupancy has declined."

#9. Winner, Behaviour: Mammals: "Tranquil Moment" By Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod, Sri Lanka

"Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod finds this serene scene of a young toque macaque sleeping in an adult’s arms. Resting in a quiet place after a morning of photographing birds and leopards, Vinod soon realised he wasn’t alone. A troop of toque macaques was moving through the trees above. Vinod spotted this young monkey sleeping between feeds and used a telephoto lens to frame the peaceful moment. Toque macaques easily adapt to human foods, and the encroachment of plants into their habitat has seen an increase in incidents of shooting, snaring and poisoning by farmers trying to preserve their crops."

#10. Winner, Impact Award: "Hope For The Ninu" By Jannico Kelk, Australia

"Jannico Kelk illuminates a ninu, with the wire grass and shrubs behind it providing a frame against the darkness. Jannico spent each morning walking the sand dunes of a conservation reserve, searching for footprints that this rabbit-sized marsupial may have left the night before. Finding tracks near a burrow, he set up his camera trap. The greater Bilby has many Aboriginal names, including ninu. It was brought to near extinction through predation by introduced foxes and cats. Within fenced reserves where many predators have been eradicated, the bilby is thriving."

#11. Winner, Photojournalist Story Award: "Dolphins Of The Forest" By Thomas Peschak, Germany/South Africa

"‘Among the Trees’. The Amazon river dolphin is one of two freshwater dolphin species living in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. Only this species has evolved to explore the seasonally flooded forest habitat."

#12. Winner, 10 Years And Under: "Free As A Bird" By Alberto Román Gómez, Spain

"Alberto Román Gómez contrasts a delicate stonechat bird with a hefty chain. Watching from the window of his father’s car at the edge of the Sierra deGrazalema Natural Park, Alberto found this young bird tricky to photograph as it was quickly flying back and forth, gathering insects. To Alberto, the stonechat displayed a sense of ownership, as if it were a young guardian overseeing its territory. This young bird has not yet developed its adult call, which sounds like two stones tapped together. Stonechats tend to prefer open habitats and typically perch on fences."

#13. Winner, Impact Award: "Recording By Hand" By Liwia Pawłowska, Poland

"Liwia Pawłowska watches as a relaxed common whitethroat is gently held by a bird ringer. Liwia is fascinated by bird ringing and has been photographing ringing sessions since she was nine. She says that she hopes her photograph ‘helps others to get to know this topic better.’ Volunteers can assist trained staff at bird-ringing sessions, where a bird’s length, sex, condition and age are recorded. Data collected helps scientists to monitor populations and track migratory patterns, aiding conservation efforts."

#14. Winner, 15-17 Years: "Life Under Dead Wood" By Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, Germany

"Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas rolls a log over to see the fruiting bodies of slime mold and a tiny springtail. Alexis worked fast to take this photograph, as springtails can jump many times their body length in a split second. He used a technique called focus stacking, where 36 images, each with a different area in focus, are combined. Springtails are barely two millimetres long (less than a tenth of an inch). They are found alongside slime moulds and leaf litter all over the world. They feed on microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, improving soil by helping organic matter to decompose."

#15. Winner, Underwater: "Under The Waterline" By Matthew Smith, UK/Australia

"Matthew Smith carefully photographs a curious leopard seal beneath the Antarctica ice. Matthew used a specially made extension he designed for the front of his underwater housing to get this split image. It was his first encounter with a leopard seal. The young seal made several close, curious passes. ‘When it looked straight into the lens barrel, I knew I had something good.’ Though leopard seals are widespread and abundant, overfishing, retreating sea ice and warming waters mean that krill and penguins – their main food sources– are both in decline."