Simply jaw-dropping: The best 31 wildlife photos of 2025 (so far)
Simply jaw-dropping: The best 31 wildlife photos of 2025 (so far)
From playful polar bears to a kingfisher with a very cold bottom.
While cruising through the Svalbard archipelago, we encountered three polar bears feeding on several dolphin carcasses. Observing quietly from our boat at a respectful distance we witnessed one of the bears starting to play with a stick. The bear was totally ignoring us in this moment of pure joy revealing a surprising playfulness. The behavior reminds me of an energetic and playful golden retriever fetching a stick. Photo by Tom Nickels
The prestigious World Nature Photography Awards have revealed this year's winners, with the top prize going to – drum roll, please – a breathtaking aerial photo of two deer running through a snow-covered vineyard.
The photo below, taken by Slovenian photographer Maruša Puhek, won the top prize out of hundreds of entries from around the world. Other standout shots include a stunning image of birds battling in mid-air and an adorable fox joyfully leaping.
Here are some of our favourite winning images from this year’s competition...
Daisy daisy
A close-up image of a blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans). Photographed at Cotswold Water Park, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Photo by Rory J Lewis/World Nature Photography Awards
Grand prismatic spring
An aerial view of the Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, USA. Photo by Brian Creek/World Nature Photography Awards
Kingfisher on ice
A kingfisher sits on a very cold ice-covered plant, in this image taken in Norfolk, England. Photo by Vince Burton/World Nature Photography Awards
Might as well jump
A young fox cub appears to jump for joy in this image, shot at Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada. Photo by Donna Feledichuk/World Nature Photography Awards
A sword in the chest
Two white-cheeked terns (Sterna repressa) fight for territory on Kubbar Island, Kuwait. Its beak against the other's chest, resembling a sword strike. Kubbar is famous for its large summer colonies of breeding terns. Photo by Mohammad Murad/World Nature Photography Awards
Rest easy
A silverback mountain gorilla sleeps in this amazing image, shot in Uganda. Photo by Tom Way/World Nature Photography Awards
A blue-spotted mudskipper (Boleophthalmus caeruleomaculatus) skips along the water at Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western Australia. Photo by Georgina Steytler/World Nature Photography Awards
Austfonna ice cap
An aerial image of the Austfonna ice cap in Svalbard, Norway. Photo by Thomas Vijayan/World Nature Photography Awards
Chasing the storm
A pair of cormorants diving underwater. Cormorants are expert divers, adapted for ocean hunting with webbed feet, denser bones that reduce buoyancy, and specialised feathers – water-resistant near the skin for insulation and absorbent elsewhere to aid diving. Photo by Fressia Peng/World Nature Photography Awards
Male paper nautilus
A male paper nautilus (Argonauta) inside a tunicate (a marine invertebrate) in Anilao, Philippines. Photo by Ilaria Mariagiulia Rizzuto/World Nature Photography Awards
Enchanted duo
A pair of lanternflies photographed in Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Khaichuin Sim/World Nature Photography Awards
Twilight
An aurora and the Milky Way are visible in the skies above Hyalite Lake, Montana, USA. Photo by Jake Mosher/World Nature Photography Awards
A guinea fowl photographed in Tanzania. Photo by Ngar Shun Victor Wong/World Nature Photography Awards
Don't worry, be happy
A Namib sand gecko (Pachydactylus rangei) runs across hot sand, in this image taken in Walvis Bay, Namibia. Photo by Marti Phillips/World Nature Photography Awards
Critical moment
A great grey owl flies in front of the path of an oncoming car in California, USA. Photo by Elizabeth Yicheng Shen/World Nature Photography Awards
The colour out of space
In this photograph, a flower praying mantis (Creobroter sp. yunnan) perches gracefully on a mushroom (Cordyceps sp), set against a black background. The distinctive appearance of the mantis, with its vibrant colours and intricate patterns, juxtaposed against the unique form of the Cordyceps mushroom, creates an otherworldly atmosphere reminiscent of alien creatures. Photo by Irina Petrova/World Nature Photography Awards
Reclaim
A volcanic eruption engulfs a snow-covered landscape and a main road on the Reykjanes peninsula, Svartsengi, Reykjanes, Iceland. Photo by Ael Kermarec/World Nature Photography Awards
A robber fly starts to devour its prey. Photographed in Puszcza Bukowa, Szczecin, Poland. Photo by Pawel Tyl/World Nature Photography Awards
Fireworks
A group of paepalanthus plants glow in the sunset at Veadeiros Tablelands, Brazil. Photo by Marcio Esteves Cabral/World Nature Photography Awards
Fueling resilience
A male pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura) sits on barbed wire in Mandinari, Gambia. Photo by Benjamin Smail/World Nature Photography Awards
Five-star meal
Five cheetahs feed on a young hartebeest in the Olare Conservancy, Kenya. Photo by Paul Goldstein/World Nature Photography Awards
Dawn's whispers
A hoopoe bird (Upupidae) is framed by some amazing lighting, in this image taken at the Al Qudra Lakes, Dubai. Photo by Hermis Valiyandiyil/World Nature Photography Awards
Devghali beach
The Devghali Beach is framed by the Milky Way in this image. Devghali Beach is located on the coast between Ratnagiri and Konkan, India. Photo by Santanu Majumder/World Nature Photography Awards
Feathers
This image shows the stunning plumage of a Ceylon junglefowl (Gallus lafayettii), the national bird of Sri Lanka. This bird was photographed at Horton Plains. The image highlights the intricate details of its iridescent blue and deep orange feathers. Photo by Pandula Bandara/World Nature Photography Awards
The lily pad
Fishermen harvesting anchovies in Phu Yen, Vietnam. Photo by Robert Middleton/World Nature Photography Awards
Polar retriever
While cruising through the Svalbard archipelago, the photographer encountered three polar bears feeding on several dolphin carcasses. Observing quietly from a respectful distance they witnessed one of the bears starting to play with a stick. Photo by Tom Nickels/World Nature Photography Awards
An olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) swims near the surface of Kasait, Timor Leste. Photo by Daniel Flormann/World Nature Photography Awards
Run – Overall winner
A pair of deer run across the snow-covered vineyards of Murščak, Slovenia. Photo by Marusa Puhek/World Nature Photography Awards
James Cutmore is the picture editor of BBC Science Focus Magazine. He has worked on the magazine and website for over a decade, telling compelling science stories through the use of striking imagery. He holds a degree in Fine Art, and has been nominated for the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards, being highly commended in 2020. His main areas of interest include photography that highlights positive technology and the natural world. For many years he was a judge for the Wellcome Trust's image competition, as well as judging for the Royal Photographic Society.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
