Sink Your Teeth Into the Best Nature Images of the Year

Seeking immoderate oculus candy? Look nary further than these highly commended images submitted to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, which is putting connected an accumulation of the photos from Friday, October 11, 2024 done June 29, 2025.

Photo: Georgina Steytler / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This melodramatic macro presumption of Dawson’s burrowing bees shows males each attempting to mate with a female.

Photo: Xingchao Zhu / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Pallas’s cats are a taxon of chaotic feline autochthonal to acold swaths of Asia, similar Inner Mongolia. Here, 1 feline is seen conscionable aft catching a tiny vertebrate (squashed beneath its paws), with the mounting satellite down it.

Photo: William Fortescue / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

In this frost frame, you whitethorn beryllium duped into reasoning these lions are successful an argument. Perhaps so, but they’re besides post-coitus, having mated respective times earlier this photograph was taken. If you look closely, you tin spot tendrils of saliva and flying insects betwixt the ample cats.

Photo: Tommy Trenchard / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This requiem shark had the misfortune of being bycatch of a sportfishing vessel successful the South Atlantic Ocean. The shark is captured contorting its assemblage arsenic it fights against the hook. About 80 cardinal sharks are removed from the water each year. Today, astir 75% of each shark taxon astatine hazard of extinction.

Photo: Thomas Vijayan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A drone changeable captures the majesty and mammoth size of a glacier successful Norway. The representation itself is simply a composite of 26 idiosyncratic frames, capturing a glacier that is portion of Austfonna, the 3rd largest crystal headdress successful Europe. Meltwater tin beryllium seen pouring disconnected the apical of the glacier, turning immoderate of the oversea into a operation of lighter blues and white.

Photo: Theo Bosboom / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Collections of mussels connected the seashore of Portugal are seen here, sticking unneurotic to debar being washed to sea. At archetypal glance, the invertebrates could beryllium mistaken for crows of penguins seen from afar.

Photo: Tamara Stubbs And Atlantic Productions / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Ah, to beryllium a crabeater seal, napping amongst the oversea ice. That’s the concern of the 2 pinnipeds seen here, bobbing successful the frigid waters of the Weddell Sea. It looks rather serene—dare I say, amended than a table job?

Photo: Shreyovi Mehta / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Two peafowl are silhouetted by airy illuminating a interruption successful the trees of Rajasthan’s Keoladeo National Park. To each their own, but this is my favourite changeable of the highly commend selection.

Photo: Sasha Jumanca / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

In this shot, 2 tawny owlets beryllium connected a histrion subdivision successful a German park. One owlet’s eyes are astir shut, portion the different leans towards its partner, curiously looking astatine the photographer’s camera.

Photo: Samual Stone / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A jackdaw is seen present carrying respective stones successful its beak. No, it’s not for digestion. The vertebrate is bringing the stones to its nest; according to a contention release, the lensman besides saw the birds bringing cervid hairsbreadth backmost to their nest.

Photo: Randy Robbins / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A dead, frost-covered cervid is seen present connected the wood level adjacent Susanville, California.

Photo: Lam Soon Tak / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A David Bowie spider is seen betwixt 2 branches successful Malaysia. Named for the precocious British popular prima by an arachnologist and Bowie enthusiast, the markings connected the spider’s caput carnivore a passing resemblance to 1 of Bowie’s constitution routines.

Photo: Jose Manuel Grandío / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A stoat leaps supra the snowfall successful this dynamic shot. Taken successful France, the stoat’s motivations are not clear. The behaviour is referred to arsenic “dancing” by scientists, but it whitethorn beryllium caused by thing from parasitic infections to a mode of confusing prey.