Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 winners list: Spiders, frogs and fungi
South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever has been named the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 for his powerful image, Ghost Town Visitor.
The photo shows a brown hyena among the remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia.
Brown hyenas are nocturnal, mostly solitary and quite rare, making capturing them on film quite challenging.
“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,” competition organisers said in a press release.
The snap was selected from more than 60,000 entries in the global competition which, now in its 61st year, is touted to be the biggest nature photography competition in the world.
The contest, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London, sets out to exhibit the world’s best nature photography and wildlife photojournalism from photographers of all ages, nationalities and experience levels.
Van den Heever won the overall category as well as the Urban Wildlife category.
Here are the winners of the other categories in the competition — strap in for a visual treat:
Animals in their Environment
Like an Eel out of Water by Shane Gross, Canada. A peppered moray eel in its element while hunting for carrion at low tide. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Shane Gross)
Animal Portraits
Shadow Hunter by Philipp Egger, Italy. The orange glint of an eagle owl’s eyes and the evening light falling on its feathers. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Phillipp Egger)
Behaviour: Birds
Synchronised Fishing by Qingrong Yang, China. A ladyfish snatching its prey from right under a little egret’s beak. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Qingrong Yang)
Behaviour: Mammals
Cat Amongst the Flamingos by Dennis Stogsdill, USA. A caracal hunting a lesser flamingo in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Dennis Stogsdill)
Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles
Frolicking Frogs by Quentin Martinez, France. A gathering of lesser tree frogs in a breeding event. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Quentin Martinez)
Behaviour: Invertebrates
Mad Hatterpillar by Georgina Steytler, Australia. The strange headgear of a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Georgina Steytler)
Oceans: The Bigger Picture
The Feast by Audun Rickardsen, Norway. Feeding time near an Atlantic fishing vessel during a polar night in northern Norway. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Audun Rikardsen)
Plants and Fungi
Deadly Allure by Chien Lee, Malaysia. The fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant exposed using a UV torch. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Chien Lee)
Natural Artistry
Caught in the Headlights by Simone Baumeister, Germany. An orb weaver spider on its web on a pedestrian bridge, silhouetted by lights from the cars below. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Simone Baumeister)
Underwater
Survival Purse by Ralph Pace, USA. A beautifully illuminating egg case of a swell shark, tethered to the base of a giant kelp. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Ralph Pace)
Wetlands: The Bigger Picture
Vanishing Pond by Sebastian Frölich, Germany. A springtail among a galaxy of neon green gas bubbles in Austrian moorlands. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Sebastian Frölich)
Photojournalism
How to Save a Species by Jon A Juárez, Spain. The documented process of saving a northern white rhino from extinction through in vitro fertilisation. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Jon A Juárez)
Photojournalist Story Award
End of the Round-Up by Javier Aznar González de Rueda, Spain: Drops of deadly venom drip into a glass as an eastern diamondback rattlesnake is milked. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Javier Aznar González de Rueda)
Impact Award
Orphan of the Road by Fernando Faciole, Brazil. An orphaned giant anteater pup follows its carer after an evening feed. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Fernando Faciole)
Rising Star Award
Watchful Moments by Luca Lorenz, Germany. A coypu – a rodent introduced from South America – appeared in the frame as Luca photographed swans at a lake. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Luca Lorenz)
Portfolio Award
Visions of the North by Alexey Kharitonov, Israel/ Russia. A small lake surrounded by trees and a grassy knoll. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Alexey Kharitonov)
10 Years and Under
The Weaver’s Lair by Jamie Smart, UK. An orb weaver spider inside its silken retreat on a cold September morning. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Jamie Smart)
11 to 14 Years
Alpine Dawn by Lubin Godin, France. An alpine ibex rests above a sea of clouds. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Lubin Godin)
15 to 17 Years/ Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025
After the Destruction by Andrea Dominizi, Italy. A longhorn beetle near abandoned machinery in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year/Andrea Dominizi)
