A curious polar bear peering into a seal’s breathing hole and an oxpecker wiping its beak on a rhino’s skin are among 100 winning pictures selected for this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Organised by London’s Natural History Museum, the world-leading contest released a preview of several awarded shots from its 62nd year, which received a record total of over 65,000 entries.
The museum stated that submissions were judged anonymously by an international panel of experts across photography, filmmaking, science and conservation, focusing on creativity, originality, technical excellence and storytelling.
The full set of winning images will be showcased in an exhibition at the South Kensington museum from October 16 to July 11, 2027.
Those released on Wednesday include young photographer Jack Crockford’s swift silhouette against a plane approaching Heathrow Airport, while Ralph Pace captures a sea hare gliding through an eelgrass meadow in Monteray Bay, California.
Jens Cullman’s snap shows an African bullfrog lunging for an African babul butterfly, and Allegra Hutton captures a young leopard chasing a squirrel up a tree, both in Botswana.
Audun Rikardsen’s image shows an inquisitive polar bear gazing down a seal’s breathing hole in the Arctic sea ice, while Ernest Porter captures an oxpecker cleaning its bill against a rhino’s skin in South Africa.
Kathy Moran, chairwoman of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury, said: “Every year I think the entries to our competition can’t get any stronger… and every year I am proven wrong.
“Selected from a record-breaking 65,403 images, this preview presents just a small insight into the 100 incredible images in store for visitors to our exhibition in October.
“These images pave the way for a deepened appreciation and commitment to our natural world.”
Category winners, the grand title and the young grand title awards will be announced at a ceremony on October 13 hosted by wildlife presenters Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin, which will be live-streamed on the museum’s YouTube channel.
As part of the exhibition, visitors will also be able to learn more about the Natural History Museum’s biodiversity intactness index, which shows how much of a region’s natural biodiversity remains on a scale of zero to 100%.
Adopted as an official indicator for global decision-making around protecting nature, the tool supports understanding, monitoring and communicating biodiversity changes on a global scale and tracking international progress towards conservation goals.
Doug Gurr, Natural History Museum director, said: “At a time when nature is under more pressure than ever before, these photographs remind us of both what is at stake and what is worth protecting.”
Bill Huffman, chief executive of Nuveen, which is the exhibition’s lead corporate sponsor this year, said: “Each entry shares a unique perspective and challenges us to consider powerful themes, including the bonds between nature and humanity.”
Tickets are on sale now for the London exhibition on the National History Museum’s website.
The photographs will also be exhibited on a UK and international tour, which will begin in autumn, with dates and locations to be confirmed.
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