Warm and blue tones in an image the warm tones highlight a home in disrepair and cooler tones highlight a hyena.

Why this ghostly hyena portrait is the best wildlife photo of 2025

Highlighting the best wildlife photography across land and sea, see some of the winning photos from this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.

South African photographer Wim van den Heever is this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year, an annual contest run by the Natural History Museum in London. Van den Heever's photo beat out over 60,000 photos submitted from 113 countries. His photograph shows the elusive and endangered brown hyena prowling through an abandoned diamond mining ghost town in Kolmanskoppe, Namibia.
Wim van den Heever, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
ByRichard Kemeny
October 14, 2025

It took ten years for Wim van den Heever to capture his perfect shot. After noticing paw prints and scat in an abandoned mining town along the coast of southern Namibia, he saw an opportunity to snap a picture of a brown hyena, the rarest hyena in the world. Amid fog drifting in from the Atlantic Ocean, he set up his camera trap and waited. And waited.

Van den Heever’s patience and perseverance rewarded him with a striking, ghostly portrait of a brown hyena “in the most perfect frame imaginable,” gazing into the night beside the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned building. The photograph, ‘Ghost Town Visitor’, earned him the prestigious title of 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year, awarded today by London’s Natural History Museum.

The photograph is an “eerie juxtaposition of the wild reclaiming human civilization,” said competition judge Akanksha Sood Singh in a press release. “This picture is a multi-layered story of loss, resilience and the natural world’s silent triumph, making it an unforgettable piece of wildlife and conservation photography.”

An ant eater chases behind the legs of a a person who has green pants and sneakers.
In addition to highlighting one overall winner, the contest highlights photos in subcategories such as the Photojournalism Impact Award. This year's winner was Brazilian Fernando Faciole's image of an orphaned anteater pup following its caregiver at a rehabilitation center. Fernando wanted to highlight the consequences of road collisions, a leading cause of the decline in giant anteater numbers in Brazil. This 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.
Fernando Faciole, Wildlife Photographer of the Year

How this year’s winner got the shot

Nocturnal and solitary, brown hyenas are rarely seen and not an easily persuaded subject for a photograph. Yet they are known to travel through Kolmanskop, a crumbling former diamond mining settlement, as they head to the coast of the Namib Desert in search of fur seal pups and washed-up carrion.

Realizing these hyenas were too elusive to capture in person, van den Heever used camera traps to photograph them remotely. This brought a new set of challenges—from lighting to false triggers, to huge dumps of sand blowing in from the desert. Ten years after first conceiving of the photo and after many disappointing results, he’d finally got his shot. “Can I say I was doing cartwheels?”, says van den Heever. “I was extremely, extremely happy, I couldn't believe it.”

For the photographer, the picture holds a simple message: wildlife isn't separate or distant from us. “Even in our cities and urban environments, nature finds its way to live alongside us, and coexistence is possible if we are willing to embrace it,” he says. “That's basically the story I'm trying to tell.”

A girl pulls at the body of a snake removing it from it's skin.
The Photojournalist Story Award went to Spaniard Javier Aznar González de Rueda. His work explored the complex relationship between humans and rattlesnakes across the United States. Annual rattlesnake round ups, where hunters compete to collect the most snakes, began in the 1930s. Today, these competitions are losing their appeal, but in some states, anti-rattlesnake sentiment remains strong. This snake has been killed and is being skinned by a volunteer at Sweetwater. Its meat and skin were later sold. Proponents of rattlesnake round-ups sometimes cite revenue from these sales as a reason to continue. However, some events have shifted their focus to educational programs, where visitors learn about and celebrate rattlesnakes.
Javier Aznar González de Rueda, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Children stare into the window of a snake pit from two windows.
Visitors gaze at hundreds of western diamondback rattlesnakes at the annual rattlesnake round-up in Sweetwater, Texas. Many of these snakes will be killed and sold for their skin and meat. Round-ups can harm other animals too: snakes are often driven from their rock shelters using petrol fumes.
Javier Aznar González de Rueda, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A snakes head is pushed down with its mouth open, the fangs pierce a covering over a glass droplets fall into the glass.
Drops of deadly venom drip into a glass as an eastern diamondback rattlesnake is milked. The venom is used to produce antivenom and has the potential to treat certain medical conditions, such as chronic nerve pain. (Read more about the fight to improve rattlesnakes' reputation here.)
Javier Aznar González de Rueda, Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Contest winners spotlight wildlife threats

This year’s competition received a record-breaking 60,636 entries from 113 countries and territories. In addition to awarding one grand prize, the competition bestows 18 additional awards to photos that highlight wildlife.

Brazilian photographer and National Geographic Explorer Fernando Faciole won this year’s Impact Award with ‘Orphan of the Road’, a heartbreaking image of a giant anteater pup—orphaned through a road collision—trailing its caregiver after an evening feed at a rehabilitation center. After developing survival skills, the pup will be released back into the wild.

In ‘End of the Round-up’, Spanish photojournalist Javier Aznar González de Rueda’s portfolio depicts the complex relationship between humans and rattlesnakes in the United States. González de Rueda hoped to inspire protection for these snakes—at once demonized and studied for cutting edge medicine—and which are disappearing from the American landscape. The photos, and the story they tell, earned Rueda the photojournalist award.

(See more of Rueda's photos documenting American rattlesnakes here.)

A rhino fetus is photographed from above the body lays flat on it's side.
Jon A Juárez of Spain won this year's photojournalism category for his photo documenting the groundbreaking science to save the northern white rhino from extinction through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). This southern white rhino fetus, which did not survive due to an infection, was the first successful rhino embryo transfer into a surrogate mother. This breakthrough paves the way for saving the rare northern white rhino from extinction, as scientists can now work to transfer the first northern white rhino embryo into a southern white rhino surrogate.
Jon A Juárez, Wildlife Photographer of the Year

While many of the contest categories highlight one photo, the Portfolio Award goes to a photographer’s larger body of work. This year, that award went to self-taught photographer Alexey Kharitonov, whose portfolio of drone photos documented the mesmerizing details in the sprawling, remote terrains of the Russian North, Siberia, and Asia. Two shots, ‘Ice Motifs’ and ‘Taiga Moon’, show a frozen lake and a grassy mound encircled by ice, pine trees, and sphagnum moss.

Aside from recognizing awe-inspiring images from more established entrants, the contest also reserves awards for young wildlife photographers. 

Winner of the Rising Star Award—awarded to up-and-coming photographers between ages 18 to 26— was German photographer Luca Lorenz for his photo of a cheeky coypu stealing the spotlight from mute swans gliding across an urban lake in Germany. Copyu were shipped from South America to Europe for the fur trade and have established populations around the world.

The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, ages 15-17, went to Andrea Dominizi who spotted a longhorn beetle resting in a stand of Italy’s Lepini Mountains that was once logged for beech trees. Framed against now abandoned machinery, ‘After the Destruction’ explores the notion of habitat loss.

Many of this year’s award-winning photographs tell stories about the many ways wildlife are now battling for existence.

In a first for the competition, this year’s award-winning photographs will be exhibited next to the Natural History Museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index. The metric reveals how much original biodiversity remains in an area and helps track international progress towards conservation goals. The inclusion of the index will give visitors insights into how the planet’s habitats are changing in response to human pressures and is particularly timely given current rates of species decline around the world.

Many contest winners have spent years documenting the loss of Earth’s biodiversity, and they will continue to do so.

A shark is illuminated in its egg underwater.
The winner of the underwater photography category was American Ralph Pace's image of an illuminated egg case tethered to the base of giant kelp. In it grows a swell shark. Pace lit the case from behind to reveal the embryo—its gill slits and yolk sac visible among the dark kelp forest. Researchers estimate that kelp forests in Monterey Bay have declined by more than 95 per cent over the past 34 years. Swell sharks depend on kelp to lay their leathery eggs, making them especially vulnerable to such losses.
Ralph Pace, Wildlife Photographer of the Year

After briefly swapping his photographer gear for a tuxedo to attend the contest award ceremony on October 14, van den Heever is now heading off to the Falkland Islands—a remote and relatively pristine part of the world—in search of new subjects, including penguins, elephant seals, sea lions, and the black-browed albatross. “It's one of the most beautiful places, and one of the places where you can truly experience freedom.”

A bird flies trying to catch a fish that has almost finished swallowing a smaller fish that is trying to escape.
Chinese photographer Qingrong Yang won the category highlighting bird behavior. Yang perfects photographic timing to show a ladyfish snatching its prey from right under this egret’s beak. Qingrong was at Yundang Lake near his home. Once a natural marine harbor, Yundang Lake was sealed off from the sea during 1970s development. Isolated from the tides and currents, it became polluted and stagnant. An engineering project later reconnected it to the sea via a system of gates that regulate water flow.
Qingrong Yang, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A flock of birds swarm around a vessel at night on the water.
The category showcasing oceans was won Norwegian Audun Rikardsen. An Atlantic fishing vessel steers through a feeding frenzy admist the dark polar night in northern Norway. Gulls have learned to follow the sound of boats to find herring trapped in nets—easy prey. But many birds drown in or around these nets each year. Fishers and researchers are trialling solutions, including sinking the nets more quickly to make them less accessible to the birds.
Audun Rikardsen, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
the hairs of a caterpillar fill the frame on a black background.
Invertebrates category winner Georgina Steytler of Australia showcases the strange headgear of a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar. Steytler took this image backlit by the setting sun, using a fill-in flash to illuminate the living head at the base of the stack. This caterpillar’s unusual headgear is made up of old head capsules, each retained with every moult. The resulting tower is believed to help deflect attacks by predators.
Georgina Steytler, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An eels body hangs over rocks its long body reaching for a fish.
The category, Animals in their Environment, was won by Canadian Shane Gross. Despite looking stranded, this peppered moray eel is in its element, hunting for carrion at low tide. It took Gross numerous attempts over several weeks to document this rarely photographed behavior. When Gross realized the eels were scavenging for dead fish, he waited; eventually these three eels appeared. Peppered moray eels are well adapted to the intertidal zone. They can hunt both above and below the water’s surface using their keen senses of smell and sight, sometimes staying out of water for more than 30 seconds.
Shane Gross, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Small yellow frogs contrast the deep green leaves of a tree.
The category showcasing amphibians and reptile behavior was won by Quentin Martinez of France. His photo shows lesser tree frogs gathered for a breeding event on Kaw Mountain in French Guiana. Martinez framed this scene with a wide-angle lens and used a diffused flash, which didn’t disturb the frogs, to highlight their metallic sheen. To attract mates, lesser tree frogs produce short, shrill calls. Huge numbers gather, and the spectacular breeding event—triggered by heavy rains—lasts for just a few hours.
Quentin Martinez, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Florescent flowers on a darker background.
The winner of the category showcasing plants and fungi was Malaysian Chien Lee. Using a UV torch, he reveals the fluorescent world of an insect-eating pitcher plant. Insects can see ultraviolet light, but humans can’t, so Chien used a long exposure to capture this spectrum. Waiting until after sunset, he had just a five-minute window before the ambient light illuminating the backdrop disappeared completely. Carnivorous pitcher plants use color, scent, and nectar to lure their prey into pools of digestive juices at the bottom of their leaves.
Chien Lee, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A rodent makes an appearance in a blurry frame.
The contest's rising star award went to Luca Lorenz from Germany. His image showcases mute swans on an urban lake, and on the left, a coypu. The rodent species has been shipped across the world for the fur trade, and coypu have since established many feral populations.
Luca Lorenz, Wildlife Photographer of the year
An image of a cat hunting a bird.
The category showcasing mammal behavior was won by American Dennis Stogsdill, who witnessed a caracal (a type of wild cat) hunting a lesser flamingo in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. Caracals have a varied diet, from insects to antelope, and are renowned for the acrobatic leaps they make to snatch birds from the air. But there are few, if any, records of them hunting flamingos.
Dennis Stogsdill, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An aerial view of lake images.
The contests portfolio award highlights a small body of work exploring a particular photographic style or subject. This year's winner was Alexey Kharitonov of Russia. This lake, nestled in the marshes of Svetlyachkovskoye Swamp in northwestern Russia, had recently frozen over, its surface dusted with freshly fallen snow. As patches began to melt, spider-like cracks crept across dark, snow-free circles. 
Alexey Kharitonov, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A dry, grassy mound encircled by ice, reflected pine silhouettes, and the autumn glow of sphagnum moss
Kharitonov launched his drone from a narrow strip of land between a mosaic of small lakes. He framed his picture around a dry, grassy mound encircled by ice, reflected pine silhouettes, and the autumn glow of sphagnum moss. His artistic exploration of remote regions in the Russian North, Siberia, and Asia highlights taiga and Arctic tundra scenes as summer rapidly turns to winter.
Alexey Kharitonov, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A beetle in the foreground as machinery in the background can be noted out of focus in the background.
This year's Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, ages 15-17, was Italian Andrea Dominizi. Here, a longhorn beetle observes an an intruder. Dominizi noticed this longhorn beetle while walking in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy, in an area once logged for old beech trees. His photograph tells a poignant story of habitat loss. As longhorn beetles tunnel into dead wood, fungi make their way inside, helping to break it down and recycle nutrients. If the beetles’ habitat is disturbed or destroyed, the effects ripple across the entire ecosystem.
Andrea Dominizi, Wildlife Photographer of the Year