Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023: Check out some of the competition's best images
- Published
It's official - the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is now over for another year and the winners have been chosen.
This year’s contest, which is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, saw an impressive 49,957 entries from 95 different countries.
It was French underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta who was awarded the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023. His image features a tri-spine horseshoe crab and a young trio of golden trevally fish. It’s the second time Laurent has won the competition. He was also awarded the winning title in 2021.
The winner of the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 10 Years and Under Category was Vihaan Talya Vikas from India. Their image called "The wall of wonder", shows an ornamental tree trunk spider preventing its prey from escaping.
The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 winner of the 11-14 category was Ekaterina Bee from Italy. Her photo is called "Out of the blue", and features a pair of bottlenose dolphins.
There were also lots of other incredible photos which impressed the judges. Amit Eshel’s image captures a dramatic cliffside clash between two Nubian ibex in the Zin Desert in Israel.
This image reveals the magic of a fungus releasing its spores in the forest. Parasol mushrooms release spores from the gills under their cap. Billions of these tiny spores travel – usually unseen – in the air currents. Some will land where there is moisture and food, enabling them to grow networks under the forest floor.
This group of orcas were snapped in Antarctica. They belong to a group that specialises in hunting seals by charging towards the ice, creating a wave that washes the seal into the water.
These birds, known as grey-winged trumpeters, were captured watching a boa slither past. The birds spend most of their time foraging on the forest floor, eating ripe fruits, insects and the occasional small snake. That boa constrictor, creeping through the leaves, is more than three metres long, and would have been way too big for them to take on!
This image shows a hippopotamus and her two children resting in the shallow clear-water lake. The photographer spent just 20 seconds under water with them which was enough time to get the photo from a safe distance while avoiding alarming the mother.
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