Every year, photographers from around the world submit their best work for consideration for the World Nature Photography Awards. Images ranging across all flora and fauna are considered and the winners are always spectacular. “We’ve been thrilled with the quality of work that was entered into the awards,” Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the awards, said in a statement. “It was such a privilege to see the competition’s philosophy come to life – our photographers really are shining a spotlight on the wonders of the natural world in a way that reminds us to do everything we can to protect the future of our planet.” The awards are broken down into separate categories. Here are some of the select winners: Animals in their habitat Gold: Thomas Vijayan had to wait several hours to catch this best-in-show shot of a critically endangered orangutan in Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo. “I had this frame in my mind so… I firstly selected a tree that was in the water so that I [could] get a good reflection of the sky which can make the image look upside down, [and] then I climbed up on the tree and waited for hours,” Vijayan revealed. Silver: Vladimir Cech spotted a red fox walking along a felled tree in the Bohemian Forest of the Czech Republic. Bronze: Arlette Magiera captured this shot of a male kongoni trotting in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Behavior: Birds Gold: Dale Paul, Canada. This Great Horned Owl has just jumped from its perch in the trees to begin flight. She has thrust her wings forward to gain momentum. As the wings connect in front of her it appears as though she has formed a perfect flying saucer. The image was taken near High River, Canada. Silver: Andy Pollard. A sedge wren performs an amazing split between two stalks of wheat in the Falkland Islands. Bronze: This Clark’s grebe snuggles with its newborn chick, photographed by Lisa Roeder in San Luis Obispo, California. Animal Portraits Gold: Nick Dale. A Bengal tigress with a catchlight in her eye lies up to her neck in the dark shadows of a water hole. Her name is Maya ‘The Enchantress’, and she has orange and black stripes with white patches on her head. Shot with a Nikon D810 in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India on 13 May 2017. Silver: Joseph Shaffery, United Kingdom. Bronze: Femke Van Willigen, The Netherlands Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles Gold: Vittorio Ricci, Italy. Two European common brown frogs during Spring mating season, Aveto, Italy. Silver: Graham Moon, United Kingdom Bronze: Mr. Endy, Singapore Behavior: Invertebrates Gold: Dr. Tze Siong Tan, Singapore. Dragonfly and damselfly sex is a very conspicuous event, easily recognized by the heart-shaped “wheel” formation of mating pairs. Dr. Tan was lucky to encounter several pairs during a morning walk at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore. He approached quietly to avoid scaring the pair away; and positioned his equipment carefully to get both damselflies in the same plane. Silver: Melissa Robertson, United States Bronze: Janus Olajuan Boediman, Indonesia Behavior: Mammals Gold: Patrick Nowotny. An interloper approaches a watering hole in the Serengeti that was already claimed by a small pride of lions. As the lioness came close, the pride attacked her in order to drive her away. Silver: Darren Donovan. A white rhino bull takes a mud bath at Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. Bronze: Nabarun Majumdar. Sub-adult tigers splashing around at Dhikala Corbett Tiger Reserve in India. People and Nature Gold: Chrysta Funk said she was out diving in the Pacific when this school of fish formed a fantastic halo. “Sometimes you’ll see a ton of life in this area and other times you won’t,” Funk said. “This particular day we came upon a few bait balls and the fish let us swim around them.” Silver: Naomi Rose got a wonderful forced perspective photo of this giant-looking Northern giant petrel. Bronze: Surfing photographer Mark McInnis captured Josh Mulcoy on the rocky beaches of Alaska on the hunt for the perfect wave. Plants and Fungi Gold: Doron Talmi, Israel. South Eastern USA has numerous swamps, lakes and bayous where thousands of large “bald cypress” trees are growing in the water. The beautiful sights are further enhanced during the November fall foliage by amazing lights and reflections. The image was captured handheld, from a kayak at a misty dawn in a lake in East Texas. Silver: Danielle Siobhan, The Netherlands Bronze: Susana Patras, United States Urban Wildlife Gold: Lawrence Worcester, United States. A songbird pulls at construction tape to snag a thread Silver: Jocelyn Chng, Singapore Bronze: Adriana Rivas, Spain Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments Gold: Alessandro Gruzza, Italy. The first cold days of winter have frozen the surface of a pond. The first snowfall has revealed its delicate beauty. A long shutter speed enhances the movement of the clouds in the sky around Mount Cimon de la Pala, in the Pale San Martino Range. Location: Mount Cavallazza, Paneveggio-Pale San Martino Natural Park, Italy Silver: Mustafa Demirors, Sweden Bronze: Shawna Hinkel, United States Black and White Gold: Harry Skeggs, United Kingdom. Ulysses, one of the last remaining great tuskers, bears down on top of the photographer, demonstrating his colossal size and tusks. Silver: Robert Nowak, United States. Whitebark Pine, Three Sisters Wilderness, Oregon Bronze: Heiko Mennigen, Germany. A cape buffalo spies over a rampart at a waterhole in Buffaloland, Hoedspruit, South Africa. Nature Art Gold: Dipanjan Pal, India. A glacial river flowing through the black sand to the Atlantic. Silver: Jaspar Goodall, United Kingdom Bronze: Pavlos Evangelidis, Greece Nature Photojournalism Gold: Gunther De Bruyne, Belgium. A white Rhino is dehorned to prevent being killed by poachers. It’s a highly effective strategy as well as a conservation measure of last resort. All rhino species are, or have been, on the brink of extinction due to the popularity of their horn in Asia. But to clarify: rhino horn is composed of keratin, the very same substance that forms our fingernails. Nowadays, even in Asia, it’s widely known that rhino horn has no medicinal value or any other beneficial effect. However, the fewer rhinos there are, the higher the price of their horns, which unfortunately has made rhino horn consumption a status symbol.
