The best wildlife photos right now
The natural world is full of wonder. Life thrives in its every corner, from the abyssal depths of the oceans to the loftiest heights above Earth’s mountains. Thankfully, nature photographers capture Earth’s biodiversity in intimate detail, which is fully on display in the winning images from the World Nature Photography Awards.
This year’s grand prize winner for the World Nature Photographer of the Year is Tracey Lund, for her fantastic shot of two gannets going after the same fish (seen above). But all the winners are worth a look, and you can view them here.
A Himalayan griffon vulture’s bloody head
The third place image in the animal portraits category went to this unsettling shot of a griffon vulture staring at the camera, its head feathers matted down by blood.
An intimate moment between mother and child
The second place image in animal portraits was awarded to this touching photo of a young gorilla’s hand resting on its mother’s, taken in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
The glare of a frogfish
The winner of the animal portraits category was this creepy photo of a black frogfish (or black anglerfish) off the Australian coast.
A green sea turtle
The bronze winner in the animals in their habitat category went to this photo of a green sea turtle off the Galápagos island of San Cristobál. The turtle’s shell mirrors the green terrain above water.
A lynx bounding
The silver winner in the animals in their habitat category was this lynx, captured bounding through snow in Canada.
Ibexes having a row
These Nubian ibex were photographed fighting on the edge of a cliff in Israel’s Zin Desert. The fight ended without serious injury to either ibex. This photo won the gold in the animals in their habitat category.
A bullfrog on the brink (of the water)
This American bullfrog sits on the edge of a body of water in Ottawa, in the third place photograph in the amphibian and reptilian behavior category of the competition.
A night frog sings
The silver winner in the same category was this shot of a male night frog calling (note the puffed checks) in front of a clutch of eggs on a branch.
Two species, one vibe
The winner in the category devoted to amphibian and reptilian behavior was this shot of a lava lizard aboard the head of a marine iguana, which looks blissfully unbothered by the lizard’s position.
A swan takes wing
This swan is seems to emerge from the water in this blindingly white image. The bird stretches out its wings against a white background, evoking angelic overtones. The image took the bronze in the bird behavior category.
If the oxpecker fits, it sits
The silver in bird behavior went to this image of a yellow-billed oxpecker holding onto the snout of an African water buffalo in Kenya.
Two gannets going for a fish
The gold in bird behavior—as well as the overall grand prize winner of the competition—was this shot of two gannets under water off the Shetland Islands. Both birds are going for the same fish; it’s evident the birds just dove in, thanks to the dramatic surrounding bubbles.
A wasp on a branch
The Cuckoo (or emerald) wasp won the bronze in the invertebrate behavior category. The wasp is holding onto a thin branch, and against the red background its iridescent green exoskeleton is even more brilliant.
An illuminated mantis
A mantis silhouetted by a light won the silver in the invertebrate behavior category. The image is equal parts serene and creepy, making for a dramatic shot.
Crabs amid the water
Sally light-foot crabs in the rushing water on Santiago Island in the Galapágos won first prize in invertebrate behavior. The crustaceans are the sole flashes of color in an otherwise greyscale landscape.
Elephants under the trees
A herd of elephants at Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. Winning third place in the mammal behavior category, the photo shows one elephant stretching its trunk to grab a hold of a tree branch.
A bobcat guards its quarry
This bobcat guarding the carcass of a mule deer took the silver in mammal behavior. Taken in Yellowstone National Park, the carcass is half buried by snow and appears to lie on a totally different plane from the upright felid.
A cheetah chases down a meal
In the gold winner in the mammal behavior category, a mother zebra and her foal are attacked by a cheetah in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve.
An osprey preying
The bronze winner in the black and white category was this image of an osprey catching fish. The image is speckled with water droplets, making the osprey’s unfurled wings appear like a cloak under which it hunts.
An infant elephant
This shot of an elephant calf under the stride of its mother won the silver medal in the black and white category.
A lonely leopard
The gold winner in the black and white category was this image of a leopard, photographed under an arced tree. The leopard stands on the edge of a water body, making a neat reflection of the big cat and the tree above it.
The mirror of the mountains
This shot of a Patagonian lagoon took the bronze medal in the nature art category of the competition. The reflected peaks in the photo are in Los Glaciares National Park.
A dizzying aspen grove
The second place winner in the nature art category went to this spellbinding photo of aspen trees. With bushes on the forest floor and the trees’ yellow canopy above, the mesmerizing shot makes you wonder which way is up.
Iceland from above
An aerial image of landforms in Iceland won the nature art category. Blue veins of glacial water and yellow bands of sediment run through the volcanic landscape.
A binturong locked up
A binturong in captivity in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The small carnivore is used to produce a local coffee, from beans that pass through the animal’s digestive system.
Heads, bills, and skulls in a market
Baboon and hornbill heads at a voodoo market in Benin. This image was second place in the nature journalism category of the competition.
A mouthful of plastic
A sea lion pup with plastic in its mouth took the first place in the nature photojournalism category. This sea lion was spotted off Baja California.
Chasing locusts
The people and nature category of the competition showcases how our species interfaces with the natural world. This shot of a boy chasing locusts in Rajasthan took bronze in the category.
A perch takes a peek
A giant perch off Portugal checking out the camera, with a diver and a shipwreck in the background. This image took silver in the people and nature category.
Stilt fishing at sunset
A group of stilt fishermen waiting for bites at sunset off Sri Lanka. This gorgeous photo won the gold in the people and nature category.
An eye-candy landscape
The Godafoss waterfall in Iceland, beneath the northern lights. A luminous Moon is also visible. This shot was the third place photo in the category “Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments.”
A volcano awakens
An ominous shot of volcanic activity under a low cloud won second place in the landscape category; the Villarrica volcano is in Chile and makes for a foreboding subject.
Otherworldly mountains
The Vestrahorn mountain and the beach in foreground look otherworldly in this gold medal photo for the landscapes category.
A wet-looking black trumpet
Trompette de la mort, or the black trumpet mushroom. This image was the third place photo in the plants and fungi category.
Seaweed at sunrise
Seaweed in a rock pool in Falmouth, England, was the second place image in the plants and fungi category. The sunrise glares in the top-left corner of the image.
A bulbous green plant
I thought this was a jade mask at first. It’s actually Thismia thaithongiana, or Thaithong’s fairy lantern, a type of plant native to southeast Asia. This image won the gold in the plants and fungi category.
A frilly jelly
A mauve stinger (P. noctiluca) off the coast of Noli, Italy. This shot claimed third place in the underwater category.
Just passing through
A young humpback whale checks out the photographer as it swims by, off the coast of Tonga. This photo took second place in the underwater category.
Diving through the herring
An orca diving through a school of herring off Skjervøy, Norway. This image won the underwater category.
A beaver at night
This somewhat skeptical-looking beaver was photographed at night in Budapest, Hungary. The beaver took the bronze in the urban wildlife category.
A fox in the rubble
A fox amid rubble in Lucerne, Switzerland won silver in the urban wildlife category. This photo shows how animals make use of human landscapes—and indeed, human leftovers—as they go about their lives.
Nesting on the serpent
The winning image in the urban wildlife cateogry is this shot of a female sunbird in her nest—build into a a discarded human toy.