Travel Photo Competition Finalists – Wildlife Category

Find out which wildlife images made it to the shortlist!

We’re very excited to present the finalists in the wildlife category of our Travel Photography Competition. We had an amazing response to our competition and were overwhelmed with high quality entries. Our judges (expert photographers Tyrone Turner, Susan Sterner, Alan Hewitt, Emil von Maltitz, Lucia Griggi, and Sam Turley) had a challenging task, but here we are – our ten best images. Congratulations to everyone who made it to this list! The first prize is a Botswana photo safari, and we’ll be announcing the winner next week.

You can also have a look at the finalists in our other two categories; landscape and people & cultures.

Title: Lone Penguin
Photographer: Christian Wilkinson
Location: Half Moon Island, Antarctica
Description:
“I had been taking pictures on Half Moon Island and was on the way back to the exploration ship, when our zodiac pilot spotted a tiny chinstrap penguin on this huge iceberg. Fortunately, I had saved a bit of space on my memory card. (I have learned that Antarctica can be unpredictable and that it’s always worth having some space left for the trip back.) I thought the penguin looked so regal and at home on his icy throne. A world so inhospitable to humans.”

Title: Taken by a Ghost
Photographer: Pandora Maund
Location: Seychelles
Description:
“I offered my photography services to the ICS (Island Conservation Society) on a trip to the Seychelles. After working with the Giant Aldabra Tortoises, I was invited to join an early morning beach patrol to monitor bird species and track where turtles had come from the sea overnight to lay their eggs on the beach. I had hoped to witness and photograph turtle hatchlings making their way to the sea as the sun rose. The hatchlings instinctively wait until the sand cools, indicating nighttime, when there’s less risk of predation. As the sun rises, they use its light to guide them to the sea and as far away from shore as possible, where predation is highest. Unfortunately, only around one in a thousand hatchlings reach adulthood. Once they leave the nest, predators such as birds, ghost crabs, and fish pose a significant threat.

Ghost crabs are abundant on the beach, scavenging anything from fallen fruit and plants to decaying animals—and unfortunately, live turtle hatchlings. As I walked along the beach, I spotted several horned ghost crabs. One of them had something in its claws, and I realized it had caught one of the stragglers on its first journey to the sea. I immediately lay flat on the sand and switched my lens to a 300mm (600mm equivalent) prime. The crab was scuttling along the beach, dropping its prize and picking it up again. I waited patiently for over an hour until it turned to face me. Though it’s difficult to identify the species of the turtle, it was likely a critically endangered Hawksbill, which can be found around this remote island.”

Title: Grubs Up
Photographer: Charmaine Venter
Location: South Africa
Description:
“This image was taken in my backyard. We had a big natural dam which attracted the brown-hooded kingfishers. I set up my camera on a tripod and waited in anticipation for the mother to arrive, as I knew they had just had babies. it was in the middle of the day, when the baby flew in first calling for its mom, when she arrived with a moth to feed the baby.”

Title: Peeking Through Nature’s Window
Photographer: Ahmed Salahuddin
Location: Bangladesh
Description:
“On a calm morning in a dense undergrowth, I noticed a damselfly peeking through a perfectly round hole in a vibrant green leaf. The soft natural light enhanced the delicate texture of the damselfly’s body and the leaf’s intricate veins. This moment, hidden in the quiet corners of nature, showcased the fragile beauty and symmetry often overlooked in the wild.”

Title: King
Photographer: Hunter Ferner
Location: Kenya
Description:
“Male lions often rely on their coalition to bring down larger prey, but for a dominant king of the savannah, an adult topi is easy work. This lone king carries the spoils of a morning hunt—a topi he isolated from its herd, unaided.

In the Maasai Mara, patience is essential, especially during the Great Migration’s bustling tourist season. Despite an abundance of prey, predators wait for the perfect moment to seize their kill. This shot came at the perfect intersection of timing, excellent light, and a touch of luck. We watched for what felt like hours, transfixed by the sound of cracking bones and the faint whisper of grass as he dragged the severed head of his prize through the fields.”

Title: European Bee-Eater Dispute
Photographer: Ralph Snook
Location: Bulgaria
Description:
“A small colony of bee-eaters were nesting in a cliff face overlooking a road and then open fields. It was the time when the bee-eaters were pairing up for mating, with the males passing insects to the females in an attempt to secure a mate. A one-person hide above the colony looking out to the fields allowed images to be taken as the birds came to land on the branches. This image shows two males disputing the perch. The first bee-eater, carrying an insect, was perched when the second male arrived. In the aggressive posturing, the first opened the bill and the insect fell.”

Title: Snowy Squirrel
Photographer: Simon Robers
Location: Finland
Description:
“This was taken on a trip to Finland, where I went for the bears, wolves and wolverines, but couldn’t resist photographing some of the gorgeous local squirrels.”

Title: Murmating over the Moon
Photographer: Mike Spencer
Location: England
Description:
“I had visited the location of this starling murmuration several times during the winter. Each time, the birds did something different as they murmurated, before diving into some trees to roost. I saw there was a strip of a gap between the roost trees and a building, so I decided to return when there was a full moon. There were a lot of people, but I was the only person focused on that specific gap. I thought there might be an opportunity, and I didn’t want to miss the moment. Luckily, the starlings did a couple of quick murmurations in the right direction for my photo before diving into the trees.”

Title: In the Golden Eagle’s Realm
Photographer: Noah Marcheel
Location: Norway
Description:
“I had been dreaming of my very first journey dedicated entirely to wildlife photography, and the rugged landscapes of Norway seemed like the perfect destination to chase that dream. Timing my trip to coincide with the end of winter, I set off with high hopes of capturing the season’s final moments.

My first stop was a photography hide in southern Norway. Fortune smiled on me in one way—despite winter nearing its end, heavy snowfall had graced the area in the days prior, blanketing the landscape in pristine white. Yet the first day was discouraging. Only a few eagles appeared, and dense fog reduced visibility to mere shadows.

Determined not to leave empty-handed, I decided to spend an extra night and give it one more try. On the second day, the timing was perfect in one moment as the fog unveiled the breathtaking landscape only a couple times and in one of these moments the majestic golden eagle descended onto a fallen tree.

I pressed the shutter, knowing instantly that I had captured something special—a rare and magical convergence of light, landscape, and the king of the skies.”

Title: Beautiful Bat
Photographer: Simon Roberts
Location: Costa Rica
Description:
“This is a bat with open wings seeking nectar from a banana plant. I used a multi flash set-up with an infra red trigger to get the shot.”