Selected from 60,000+ entries, take an exclusive sneak peek at powerful images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 competition

Two leopards are seen in black and white, one holding a prey in its mouth, with a soft focus on their spotted fur.

Your exclusive first look at the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is here. Now in its 61st year, this world-renowned competition, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, has once again brought together the most striking, moving, and unforgettable images of wildlife from across the globe.

Selected from 60,636 entries across 113 countries and territories, the images you're about to discover were chosen by an international panel of experts in wildlife photography, conservation, science, and filmmaking.

Each shot tells a story – of survival, resilience, and connection, and offers us a window into the often hidden lives of wild animals and the fragile ecosystems they call home.

While the 19 category winners and the overall title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 will be officially revealed during a special ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London on 14 October – hosted by renowned conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin – we're giving you an early glimpse at some of the most highly commended images.

These standout photographs will join a total of 100 selected images in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, opening to the public on 17 October, at the Natural History Museum.

So let's dive into some of the most powerful entries – and see which of these standout shots might just take home the ultimate Grand Title and Young Grand Title.

The ceremony will be available to watch live on the Natural History Museum's YouTube channel. You can find more information about the competition here.

Emmanuel Tardy (France) spots a brown-throated three-toed sloth clinging tightly to a barbed wire fence post (Image credit: Emmanuel Tardy / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Bertie Gregory (UK) freeze-frames the moment fledgling emperor penguin chicks walk along the edge of an ice shelf (Image credit: Bertie Gregory / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Kesshav Vikram (India) expresses the character of the remote wilderness of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East (Image credit: Kesshav Vikram / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Marina Cano (Spain) stumbles upon a group of cheetahs after they’ve caught a Günther’s dik-dik in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya (Image credit: Marina Cano / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Gabriella Comi (Italy) witnesses a dramatic stand-off between a lion and a cobra (Image credit: Gabriella Comi / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Lakshitha Karunarathna (Sri Lanka) reveals a solitary Asian elephant navigating a waste disposal site in Sri Lanka (Image credit: Lakshitha Karunarathna / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Jamie Smart (UK) portrays a red deer stag as it gives a mighty bellow during the autumn rut in Bradgate Park, UK (Image credit: Jamie Smart / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Kutub Uddin (Bangladesh/UK) spots a line of alien-like slime moulds on a fallen tree (Image credit: Kutub Uddin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Leana Kuster (Switzerland) shows a greater flamingo in the act of scratching its head with one of its unmistakably long legs (Image credit: Leana Kuster / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Isaac Szabo (USA) watches longnose gars spawn in a crystal-clear Florida river (Image credit: Isaac Szabo / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Amit Eshel (Israel) gets eye-level with an inquisitive pack of Arctic wolves (Image credit: Amit Eshel / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Jassen Todorov (USA) depicts the clouds reflected in salt ponds that span San Francisco Bay (Image credit: Jassen Todorov / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Parham Pourahmad (USA) uses the morning light to frame the amber eyes of a male coyote within the black-tipped tail of a female (Image credit: Parham Pourahmad / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Parham Pourahmad (USA) uses the morning light to frame the amber eyes of a male coyote within the black-tipped tail of a female (Image credit: Ralph Pace / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Sitaram Raul (India) is among the chaos as fruit bats leave their roost in the ruins of a historical monument (Image credit: Sitaram Raul / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

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