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Photography

Cobras, wolves, and bears. Competition delivers lots of "Oh my" photos

By Michael Franco
September 02, 2025
Cobras, wolves, and bears. Competition delivers lots of "Oh my" photos
This potter wasp was captured mid-air carrying home a caterpillar it has paralyzed. It will use it to feed its developing larvae.
This potter wasp was captured mid-air carrying home a caterpillar it has paralyzed. It will use it to feed its developing larvae.
View 12 Images
This potter wasp was captured mid-air carrying home a caterpillar it has paralyzed. It will use it to feed its developing larvae.
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This potter wasp was captured mid-air carrying home a caterpillar it has paralyzed. It will use it to feed its developing larvae.
Entitled "Wake-up Call," this striking image was captured after the slithering cobra awoke a pair of sleeping lions in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
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Entitled "Wake-up Call," this striking image was captured after the slithering cobra awoke a pair of sleeping lions in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
This caldera lake on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula is the feeding ground for brown bears, who gather to feed on spawning sockeye salmon each year. The Iliinsky volcano rises through the clouds in background.
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This caldera lake on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula is the feeding ground for brown bears, who gather to feed on spawning sockeye salmon each year. The Iliinsky volcano rises through the clouds in background.
Photographer Jamie Smart had to stretch tall in order to clear the grass for this shot of a red deer stag bellowing in Bradgate Park, UK.
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Photographer Jamie Smart had to stretch tall in order to clear the grass for this shot of a red deer stag bellowing in Bradgate Park, UK.
A greater flamingo raises its foot to satisfy an itch in the Camargue wetlands located in the south of France.
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A greater flamingo raises its foot to satisfy an itch in the Camargue wetlands located in the south of France.
A group of jellyfish is called a "smack" and to get this shot of a smack of sea nettles, photographer Ralph Pace had to cover himself in petroleum jelly to protect from the stingers.
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A group of jellyfish is called a "smack" and to get this shot of a smack of sea nettles, photographer Ralph Pace had to cover himself in petroleum jelly to protect from the stingers.
Aptly named "Deadly Lesson," this striking image shows the fate of a dik-dik antelope after it was chased down by three cheetah cubs learning to hunt in Kenya's Samburu National Reserve.
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Aptly named "Deadly Lesson," this striking image shows the fate of a dik-dik antelope after it was chased down by three cheetah cubs learning to hunt in Kenya's Samburu National Reserve.
While this looks like one coyote looking over its shoulder, there are actually two of the animals in this shot taken in San Francisco's Bernal Heights Park.
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While this looks like one coyote looking over its shoulder, there are actually two of the animals in this shot taken in San Francisco's Bernal Heights Park.
Not all images in the competition highlight the beauty of nature. Some show the destruction humans are bringing to the planet, such as this image of a lone elephant making its way through a trash dump in Sri Lanka.
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Not all images in the competition highlight the beauty of nature. Some show the destruction humans are bringing to the planet, such as this image of a lone elephant making its way through a trash dump in Sri Lanka.
Not all photos in the competition focus on animals, as this extreme close up of slime molds found in Slindon Wood, UK proves.
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Not all photos in the competition focus on animals, as this extreme close up of slime molds found in Slindon Wood, UK proves.
A line-up of emperor penguin chics waiting to see who will be the first to take the 15-meter (49-foot) plunge off a cliff above the Antarctic Ocean.
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A line-up of emperor penguin chics waiting to see who will be the first to take the 15-meter (49-foot) plunge off a cliff above the Antarctic Ocean.
Sometimes basic white is the best camouflage, as this pack of Arctic wolves demonstrates.
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Sometimes basic white is the best camouflage, as this pack of Arctic wolves demonstrates.
View gallery - 12 images

Every year, the Natural History Museum in London dazzles wildlife lovers with the best-of-the-best photographs of the natural world. This year is no exception, and we've got a riveting preview for you ahead of October's award ceremony.

Now in its 61st year, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition showcases 100 of the world's best nature photographs at the museum and crowns a series of shooters in a variety of categories, as well as awarding one Grand Title and one Young Grand Title. This year's competition saw a whopping 60,636 entries from which the previews in our gallery have been selected.

“Selected from a record-breaking over 60,000 images, this preview presents just a small insight into the 100 awe-inspiring, impactful and moving images in store for visitors to our exhibition in October," says Kathy Morgan, who is the chair of the jury tasked with selecting all of the winners. "As an advocate for the power of photography, there is nothing more rewarding or moving than seeing our relationship to the natural world, in all its complexity and splendour, shared on the world’s biggest platform for wildlife photography.”

Entitled "Wake-up Call," this striking image was captured after the slithering cobra awoke a pair of sleeping lions in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Entitled "Wake-up Call," this striking image was captured after the slithering cobra awoke a pair of sleeping lions in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

The 100 winning entries will be announced on October 14 at the museum and on an accompanying broadcast on its YouTube channel. The shots will then be exhibited at the museum from October 17 through July 12 before they embark on a UK and international tour. This year, some of the shots featured in the exhibit will be accompanied by the museum's Biodiversity Intactness Index, a proprietary ranking system that indicates how much of a region's natural biodiversity remains, on a scale from zero to 100%.

“Now in its sixty-first year, we are thrilled to continue Wildlife Photographer of the Year as a powerful platform for visual storytelling, showing the diversity, beauty and complexity of the natural world and humanity's relationship to it," says Natural History Museum director, Doug Gurr. "With the inclusion of our Biodiversity Intactness Index, this year’s exhibition will be our best combination of great artistry and groundbreaking science yet, helping visitors to become inspired to be advocates for our planet.”

We'll showcase some of the winners later this year after they are announced. For now, enjoy an unparalleled look at the natural world through the preview featured in the gallery.

Source: National History Museum

View gallery - 12 images

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PhotographyWildlifeAnimalsConservationInsectjellyfishPhotographers
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Michael Franco
Michael Franco
Michael Franco has combined a masters degree in creative writing with a passion for peeking under the hood of life on Earth to write about the serious and silly sides of science and technology for years. He's published in Discovery Channel Magazine, Discover Magazine, CNET, HowToGeek, Lifehacker, and more. But by far, his favorite home so far is at New Atlas where he's allowed all the beakers and Bunsen burners he needs in which to mix his words. The mountains and beaches of central Portugal, where he now lives with his wife and two giant poodles, offer the perfect foil for way too much screen time.

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