Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

South African Wim van den Heever has been named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 for his powerful image of the rarest hyena species in the world, entitled Ghost Town Visitor. With a record 60,636 entries from 113 countries and territories, the prestigious annual competition is run by the Natural History Museum, London.

Natural History Museum Director Dr Doug Gurr said, “Now in its sixty-first year, we are thrilled to continue Wildlife Photographer of the Year as a powerful platform for visual storytelling, showing the diversity, beauty and complexity of the natural world and humanity’s relationship to it. With the inclusion of our Biodiversity Intactness Index, this year’s exhibition will be our best combination of great artistry and groundbreaking science yet, helping visitors to become inspired to be advocates for our planet.”

Here’s my top ten:

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

Highlighting how nature interacts with urban spaces in often unusual ways, according to a press release, Wim’s ghostly photograph (above) is a haunting yet mesmerising view of a brown hyena visiting the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia. Testament to the photographer’s determination and patience, using camera trap technology, it took Wim a decade to get this single shot of a brown hyena after first noticing their tracks at the site.

The rarest hyena species in the world, brown hyenas are nocturnal and mostly solitary. They are known to pass through Kolmanskop on their way to hunt Cape fur seal pups or scavenge for carrion washed ashore along the Namib Desert coast. Brown hyenas are rarely seen, so camera trap technology is an effective way for scientists to monitor behaviour and better understand the species.

Wim’s photograph also won the Urban Wildlife Category, with the judges admiring how it gives an original twist to the interpretation of urban. “It once was but is no longer a human-dominated environment,” explains Kathy Moran, Photo Editor and Chair of the Jury for Wildlife Photographer of the Year. “Abandoned by miners, wildlife has taken over. Repopulated, if you will. Is it still a town? It would seem that way to me — just no longer ours.”

Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Andrea Dominizi, 17, is the first Italian to land this prestigious award. After the Destruction tells a poignant tale of habitat loss. Framed against abandoned machinery, the image spotlights a longhorn beetle in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy, an area once logged for old beech trees. The picture tells two stories. One is of impending natural destruction caused by human intervention, against which the smallest creatures stand no chance. The other is of hope and resilience, the composition cleverly making the insect appear as big as the machinery.

Impact Award 

The Impact Award recognises a conservation success, a story of hope or positive change. Brazilian photographer Fernando Faciole won for Orphan of the Road.

Spotlighting an orphaned giant anteater pup following its caregiver after an evening feed at a rehabilitation centre, Fernando’s photograph highlights the consequences of road collisions, a leading cause of the decline in giant anteater numbers in Brazil. The pup’s mother was killed by a vehicle, and the hope is that it will be released back into the wild after being encouraged to develop crucial survival skills by its caregiver.

Animals in their Environment category photographed by Shane Gross of Canada on D’Arros Island, Amirante, Seychelles.

10 Years and Under category photographed by Jamie Smart of the UK in Mid-Wales, UK.

Behaviour: Birds category photographed by Qingrong Yang of China at Yundang Lake, Fujian Province, China.

Behaviour: Mammals category photographed by Dennis Stogsdill from the US at Ndutu Lake, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Photojournalism category photographed by Jon A Juárez of Spain at Ol Pejeta, Nanyuki, Laikipia County, Kenya

Photojournalist Story category photographed by Javier Aznar González de Rueda of Spain in the US

The Bigger Picture category photographed by Audun Rikardsen of Norway at Kvænangen Fjord, Skjervøy, Norway

The category winners, including the full 100 images selected for the competition’s 61st portfolio, were anonymously selected for their originality, technical excellence and creativity by an international panel of experts across the disciplines of wildlife photography, filmmaking, conservation and science. 

The winning photographs will be showcased at the Natural History Museum, London from 17 October, including the 19 category winners across topics ranging from underwater to urban wildlife and photojournalism to mammal behaviour.

All images can be seen here: www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year.html?utm_source=winners-announcement-20251014-lg&utm_medium=nhm-press&utm_campaign=wpy61