{"id":214055,"date":"2025-10-15T01:26:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T01:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/214055\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T01:26:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T01:26:17","slug":"wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2025-winners-list-spiders-frogs-and-fungi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/214055\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 winners list: Spiders, frogs and fungi"},"content":{"rendered":"

South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever has been named the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 for his powerful image, Ghost Town Visitor.<\/p>\n

The photo shows a brown hyena among the remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia.<\/p>\n

Brown hyenas are nocturnal, mostly solitary and quite rare, making capturing them on film quite challenging.<\/p>\n

“Testament to the photographer\u2019s determination and patience, using camera trap technology, it took Wim a decade to get this single shot of a brown hyena after first noticing their tracks at the site,” competition organisers said in a press release.<\/p>\n

The snap was selected from more than 60,000 entries in the global competition which, now in its 61st year, is touted to be the biggest nature photography competition in the world.<\/p>\n

The contest, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum<\/a> in London, sets out to exhibit the world’s best nature photography and wildlife photojournalism from photographers of all ages, nationalities and experience levels.<\/p>\n

Van den Heever won the overall category as well as the Urban Wildlife category.<\/p>\n

Here are the winners of the other categories in the competition \u2014 strap in for a visual treat:<\/p>\n

Animals in their Environment\"An<\/p>\n

Like an Eel out of Water by Shane Gross, Canada. A peppered moray eel in its element while hunting for carrion at low tide. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Shane Gross)<\/p>\n

Animal Portraits\"A<\/p>\n

Shadow Hunter by Philipp Egger, Italy. The orange glint of an eagle owl\u2019s eyes and the evening light falling on its feathers. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Phillipp Egger)<\/p>\n

Behaviour: Birds\"A<\/p>\n

Synchronised Fishing by Qingrong Yang, China. A ladyfish snatching its prey from right under a little egret\u2019s beak. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Qingrong Yang)<\/p>\n

Behaviour: Mammals\"A<\/p>\n

Cat Amongst the Flamingos by Dennis Stogsdill, USA. A caracal hunting a lesser flamingo in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Dennis Stogsdill)<\/p>\n

Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles\"Several<\/p>\n

Frolicking Frogs by Quentin Martinez, France. A gathering of lesser tree frogs in a breeding event. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Quentin Martinez)<\/p>\n

Behaviour: Invertebrates\"A<\/p>\n

Mad Hatterpillar by Georgina Steytler, Australia. The strange headgear of a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Georgina Steytler)<\/p>\n

Oceans: The Bigger Picture\"A<\/p>\n

The Feast by Audun Rickardsen, Norway. Feeding time near an Atlantic fishing vessel during a polar night in northern Norway. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Audun Rikardsen)<\/p>\n

Plants and Fungi\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Deadly Allure by Chien Lee, Malaysia. The fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant exposed using a UV torch. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Chien Lee)<\/p>\n

Natural Artistry\"The<\/p>\n

Caught in the Headlights by Simone Baumeister, Germany. An orb weaver spider on its web on a pedestrian bridge, silhouetted by lights from the cars below. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Simone Baumeister)<\/p>\n

Underwater\"An<\/p>\n

Survival Purse by Ralph Pace, USA. A beautifully illuminating egg case of a swell shark, tethered to the base of a giant kelp. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Ralph Pace)<\/p>\n

Wetlands: The Bigger Picture\"Neon<\/p>\n

Vanishing Pond by Sebastian Fr\u00f6lich, Germany. A springtail among a galaxy of neon green gas bubbles in Austrian moorlands. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Sebastian Fr\u00f6lich)<\/p>\n

Photojournalism\"A<\/p>\n

How to Save a Species by Jon A Ju\u00e1rez, Spain. The documented process of saving a northern white rhino from extinction through in vitro fertilisation. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Jon A Ju\u00e1rez)<\/p>\n

Photojournalist Story Award\"A<\/p>\n

End of the Round-Up by Javier Aznar Gonz\u00e1lez de Rueda, Spain: Drops of deadly venom drip into a glass as an eastern diamondback rattlesnake is milked. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Javier Aznar Gonz\u00e1lez de Rueda)<\/p>\n

Impact Award\"A<\/p>\n

Orphan of the Road by Fernando Faciole, Brazil. An orphaned giant anteater pup follows its carer after an evening feed. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Fernando Faciole)<\/p>\n

Rising Star Award\"A<\/p>\n

Watchful Moments by Luca Lorenz, Germany. A coypu \u2013 a rodent introduced from South America \u2013 appeared in the frame as Luca photographed swans at a lake. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Luca Lorenz)<\/p>\n

Portfolio Award\"A<\/p>\n

Visions of the North by Alexey Kharitonov, Israel\/ Russia. A small lake surrounded by trees and a grassy knoll. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Alexey Kharitonov)<\/p>\n

10 Years and Under\"A<\/p>\n

The Weaver’s Lair by Jamie Smart, UK. An orb weaver spider inside its silken retreat on a cold September morning. (Supplied: Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Jamie Smart)<\/p>\n

11 to 14 Years\"An<\/p>\n

Alpine Dawn by Lubin Godin, France. An alpine ibex rests above a sea of clouds. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Lubin Godin)<\/p>\n

15 to 17 Years\/ Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025\"A<\/p>\n

After the Destruction by Andrea Dominizi, Italy. A longhorn beetle near abandoned machinery in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy. (Supplied: \u00a0Wildlife Photographer of the Year\/Andrea Dominizi)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"South African wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever has been named the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,131218,460,134,131219,131217,30351],"class_list":["post-214055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-best-wildlife-photos-2025","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-international-photography-competitions","tag-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2025","tag-wildlife-photography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}