Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025: A Glimpse into Nature's Struggles and Triumphs

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, hosted by the Natural History Museum in London, has received a record-breaking 60,636 entries for its 61st edition. This year’s exhibition will showcase 100 powerful images that highlight the beauty and fragility of the natural world. The exhibition opens on October 17, 2025, and runs until July 12, 2026. The winners, including the Grand Title and Young Grand Title awards, will be announced on October 14, 2025, during a live-streamed ceremony featuring wildlife presenters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin.

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Among the standout images is Emmanuel Tardy's poignant photograph titled "No Place Like Home," depicting a brown-throated three-toed sloth clinging to a barbed wire fence in Costa Rica. This image underscores the challenges faced by sloths due to habitat fragmentation, forcing them to traverse dangerous ground to reach trees. The Costa Rican government is collaborating with NGOs to establish wildlife corridors to mitigate these risks.

Live Science

Another notable entry is "Wake-up Call" by Gabriella Comi, which captures a tense moment in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park where a lioness confronts a cobra. This dramatic standoff illustrates the raw interactions between wildlife and their environment.

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Lakshitha Karunarathna's image of an Asian elephant scavenging through a waste disposal site in Sri Lanka highlights the dire consequences of human encroachment on wildlife habitats. Over three years, Karunarathna documented the hazardous conditions at these sites, where elephants are drawn to food scraps but often consume harmful plastic waste.

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The exhibition will also incorporate the Natural History Museum's Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), a metric that measures the remaining natural biodiversity in a region. This integration aims to enhance visitors' understanding of the ecological challenges depicted in the photographs. Kathy Moran, chair of the jury, emphasized the emotional impact of these images, stating, “There is nothing more rewarding or moving than seeing our relationship to the natural world, in all its complexity and splendor.”

Wildlife Photographer of the Year reveals first-look from a record-breaking number of entries entered into its sixty-first competition

Other remarkable entries include Bidyut Kalita's "Special Delivery," showcasing a potter wasp mid-flight with a caterpillar, and Amit Eshel's intimate portrait of Arctic wolves in Canada. Each photograph tells a unique story, reflecting the photographers' dedication to capturing the intricate dynamics of wildlife.

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The competition continues to serve as a powerful platform for visual storytelling, raising awareness of conservation issues while celebrating the artistry of wildlife photography. As the anticipation builds for the exhibition, the selected images promise to inspire audiences worldwide to advocate for the protection of our planet's diverse ecosystems.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year reveals first-look from a record-breaking number of entries entered into its sixty-first competition