From a tender moment between a crane and her chick to a heartbreaking image of a polar bear cub’s final moments, the finalists for the Nuveen People’s Choice Award of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest stun.
Photographers from 113 countries and territories submitted more than 60,000 images for consideration. A judging panel of photography, wildlife, conservation and science experts whittled the finalists list down to 24 photographs that are now competing for votes from the public.
Ponlawat watched the sarus cranes and their chicks in the rice paddies in Huai Chorakhe Mak Non-Hunting Area in Buri Ram, Thailand. To avoid disturbing the birds, he would lay still for several hours a day while he watched. In the evenings, after the adults had fed their chicks, they rested on their nests. The parent of this one week-old chick carefully cleaned it. Then, in a moment of intimacy, it made beak-to-beak contact and moved its beak around the chick’s for a while.
Credit: Ponlawat Thaipinnarong / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
“No matter where you are in the world, it’s time to join the jury and vote in the Nuveen People’s Choice Award to select the photograph set for display in our flagship exhibition here at the Natural History Museum,” Dr Douglas Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, London said in a statement. Whether showcasing fascinating behaviour or platforming a powerful story, this year’s selection of images is truly exceptional, and we can’t wait to see which one will be chosen as the public’s favourite!”
Voting closes March 18. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
There’s a sad story behind this picture, taken on the coast of Svalbard archipelago. Soon after it was taken, the polar bear and its family went too close to an area of huts, and people forced them away. Not long after, the mother bear was found dead in the water near the shore. According to reports, she had died from serious internal injuries. Her cub was by her side. Police shot it dead because it seemed to be aggressive. This is likely the last image of the cub.
Credit: Nima Sarikhani / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Bears are a fairly frequent sight in Jasper National Park, Canada. But cubs are rarer, as mothers tend to keep them away from any threats. It’s an enchanting moment, but also a risky one for the playful young cubs silhouetted against the glow of car headlights. Framed by the darkness of the surrounding forest, the scene took on an almost theatrical feel for Will. When the lights aligned, he knew it was the image he was after.
Credit: Will Nicholls / Wildlife Photographer of the Year WILL NICHOLLS
Deep in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, India, a tiger named T12 roams. It has pseudo-melanism, a rare genetic condition where the dark stripes are wider. At times they make the animal seem completely black. A decade ago, there were fewer than seven tigers left in the reserve and T12 was the only known male. Against all odds, he’s fathered new generations. Prasenjeet spent months tracking his trails and setting hidden camera traps. This image is a rare, intimate glimpse of Similipal’s dark knight, a powerful symbol of survival and hope.
Credit: Prasenjeet Yadav / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Silent and sharp-eyed, it follows columns of army ants. It doesn’t want to feed on the ants, but on insects and small creatures fleeing the swarm. Here, it locks onto a cicada frozen in fear. There’s a flash of movement – sharp beak striking, tail sweeping. A purple shimmer glints from its feathers, momentarily lighting up the forest floor. This secretive predator is rarely seen and even more rarely photographed. It thrives in the chaos of the undergrowth and relies on split-second decisions and perfect timing.
Credit: Lior Berman / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Thomas found this female cellar spider in the top corner of his sister’s room in their home in Southampton, England, UK. Upon closer inspection, he noticed it was carrying a ball of precious eggs in its mouth. He encouraged it onto a piece of wood to move it into the garage so it could safely raise its young. The mother spider watches over her eggs for three to four weeks until they all hatch into tiny transparent spiderlings. She then guards them in her web for a short while until they leave.
Credit: Thomas Hunt / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Lalith was exploring the city of Valparai in the Western Ghats, India. He was surprised to come face to face with these macaques. The mother raced towards Lalith, both pairs of eyes gazing forward, full of curiosity. The image was taken at ground level set against a lush backdrop. These are one of the most endangered species of macaques in the world. Human activity is eroding their habitat. Now, they survive in small, fragmented populations. To Lalith, this snapshot immortalises the macaques’ resilience in a world where their future is uncertain.
Credit: Lalith Ekanayake / Wildlife Photographer of the Year Lalith Ekanayake
In autumn, male sika deer fight over females by clashing their antlers. This deer won the fight, but their antlers became tightly locked and wouldn’t come apart. A local fisherman says the deer dragged the whole body for several days before finally tearing off its head. Kohei observed the deer on Notsuke Peninsula in Hokkaido, Japan, from late November 2020 to April 2021. It was living alone, yet it continued to forage for grass and branches and managed to survive the winter. The image shows life and death bound together.
Credit: Kohei Nagira / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Dvir observed this mother and her baby at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. They spent most of their time high up in the canopy. Brown-throated three-toed sloths aren’t the world’s fastest animals – in a week, they moved between just three trees. Downpours are common in the area. One afternoon, as the rain fell, the female nestled her young in her arms, sheltering it so it didn’t get too wet. This image shows the baby with its arms wrapped around its feet, asleep in its mother’s embrace.
Credit: Dvir Barkay / Wildlife Photographer of the Year Dvir Barkay
After a 10-hour drive, Alexandre arrived at this bird sanctuary in Walvis Bay, Namibia, just as the sun was setting. The smell from a nearby open-air dump was overwhelming, a sharp contrast to the beauty of the lesser flamingos. He waited for the right moment, hoping to capture them flying between the power lines. When two of them finally took off, their graceful flight stood out against the backdrop. The image shows how even spaces meant to protect wildlife carry the signs of human expansion.
Credit: Alexandre Brisson / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Mogens took this image in the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. In recent years, sun bears have started visiting the campsites in the park, looking for an easy meal. A sign on the furnace says ‘Evolution’. Mogens says this is indeed a type of evolution – a wild animal’s opportunistic response to humans disturbing its natural habitat. No attacks have been recorded so far, but Mogens worries that this is a conflict waiting to happen.
Credit: Mogens Trolle / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
On holiday in the southern Pantanal, Daniela was keen to see the neotropical river otters that live in the Aquidauana River. After many boat trips, she spotted this otter feeding on a catfish. It has leucism, a lack of melanin, resulting in pale or white fur. Animals with this condition can be more vulnerable as they don’t have their normal camouflage. The unique otter often returned to this branch to feed. It seemed very comfortable being observed.
Credit: Daniela Anger / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This type of scene is getting rarer. The sun is high, the land wide and open. The polar bears rest after their long journey north along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada. Shrinking sea ice is making it harder for polar bears to hunt and find food to survive in summer. This is a story of endurance and a fleeting moment of hope in a world where survival is anything but certain.
Credit: Christopher Paetkau / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Cecile was free-diving in the Pacific Ocean, near Costa Rica, when she came across the dolphins. They were herding lanternfish and guiding them towards the surface. Cecile was swimming so hard to keep up with them that it was almost impossible to take pictures. And her fisheye lens wasn’t wide enough to take in the full scene. She says that being surrounded by these dolphins was one of the most amazing encounters of her life. As they welcomed her into their realm, she nearly forgot to come up for air. Sadly, pollution and overfishing are making these massive groups rarer.
Credit: Cecile Gabillon / Wildlife Photographer of the Year CECILE BARATS O_
Dustin spent two weeks watching birds at Huembo Lodge in Pomacochas, Peru. This male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird was his main focus. In Dustin’s photo, the bird shows off its long tail while feeding on flowers. The spatuletail uses its impressive tail to attract females. Dustin considers it to be one of the world’s most fascinating birds. Population growth and deforestation from logging and farming have eroded its habitat. Now, it’s restricted to a small area in the Andes of northern Peru.
Credit: Dustin Chen / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
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