Adult Grand Title Winner 2025<\/p>\n
In the image Ghost Town Visitor, a hyena stands looking near the direction of the camera as an imposing half-destroyed house towers in the background. Taken at night, with mist setting in, the picture has a haunting quality.<\/p>\n
As well as being the overall winner, Wim\u2019s photograph also won the Urban Wildlife Category, with the judges admiring how it gives an original twist to the interpretation of urban. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt once was but is no longer a human-dominated environment,\u201d explains Kathy Moran, Photo Editor and Chair of the Jury for Wildlife Photographer of the Year. \u201cAbandoned by miners, wildlife has taken over. Repopulated, if you will. Is it still a town? It would seem that way to me \u2013 just no longer ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
The judges also consider the image to be a prime demonstration of the qualities needed to be a successful wildlife photographer \u2013 curiosity, patience and talent. But above all persistence \u2013 with Wim dedicating 10 years to getting this extraordinary photograph. <\/p>\n
Brown hyenas in ghost towns<\/p>\n
Brown hyenas aren\u2019t nearly as famous as their cousins the spotted hyena and the striped hyena. They\u2019re quite rare, with the population estimated to be between 4,000 and 10,000 in the wild. This means they\u2019re classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Near Threatened on their Red List. They live in very dry environments where food is scarce, so they tend to stay in small groups of up to six.<\/p>\n
Our zoologist Dr Natalie Cooper<\/a> explains that it\u2019s rare to find brown hyenas close to human dwellings. However, the hyenas \u201cfeel quite safe\u201d here, as the Kolmanskop area was abandoned 70 years ago after the diamonds being mined ran out. Natalie says the solitude of the place combined with human-made constructions that shelter hyenas from the wind, make it an ideal location for denning.<\/p>\n Towns like this, in the middle of the desert, are resource-limited environments that depend on the hyenas almost as much as the hyenas depend on them. As scavengers, they not only clean up by feeding on dead animals but also redistribute nutrients. \u201cThey\u2019ll often travel really big distances,\u201d Natalie explains. \u201cSometimes they\u2019ll go up to 50 kilometres to find food and bring that food back to the den, so they\u2019re moving those nutrients around.\u201d<\/p>\n This recycling role makes hyenas crucial in tough environments. Without scavengers, carcasses would pile up and nutrients would remain in one place. As a result, other parts of the ecosystem wouldn\u2019t benefit from them. <\/p>\n Wim\u2019s image reminds us all that even animals people might overlook or think negatively of play vital roles in keeping ecosystems alive.<\/p>\n Young Grand Title Winner 2025<\/p>\n A longhorn beetle of the species Morimus asper takes the spotlight in the beautiful image After the Destruction by Andrea Dominizi, the winner of this year\u2019s Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award.<\/p>\n In a frame diagonally split in half, the beetle stands fully focused in the bottom left corner while logging machinery looms in the top right.<\/p>\n The picture tells two stories. One is of impending natural destruction caused by human intervention, against which the smallest creatures stand no chance. The other is of hope and resilience, the composition cleverly making the insect appear as big as the machinery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe photographer has given M. asper authority in this image,\u201d says Marine Biologist and Underwater Photographer Jennifer Hayes, one of the judges of this year\u2019s competition. \u201cIt does exactly what a strong photograph should do \u2013 it increases our understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n Beetles as recyclers<\/p>\n Our beetle expert Max Barclay<\/a> explains that this is one of 30,000 species of longhorn beetle that exist around the world. In a poetic twist, its genus name Morimus actually comes from the Greek word meaning \u201cdestined to die\u201d, which this image so perfectly encapsulates. <\/p>\n It likely got given this name due to its black colour, its association with decaying wood and the fact it can\u2019t fly.<\/p>\n Andrea took After the Destruction in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy, in an area once logged for old beech trees. The contribution of beetles to the ecosystems of the area is so much greater than their size.<\/p>\n Much like hyenas, beetles are recyclers, only instead of recycling dead animals, they recycle dead wood. \u201cNot many things can eat dead wood,\u201d says Max, but beetles eat it and turn it into droppings that contain nutrients that are then used by plants. \u201cThat\u2019s important,\u201d he continues, \u201cbecause otherwise you just have dead wood all over the place and all the nutrients would be locked up, not being used\u201d.<\/p>\n Beetles provide nutrients not only to plants but also to animals such as birds, which feed on insects. If beetles were to disappear, Max says, \u201cyou\u2019re not only going to have an interruption of the ecosystem services but you\u2019re also going to have a loss of a food source for other organisms\u201d.<\/p>\n This is why Andrea\u2019s winning image has resonance beyond its beauty. Beetles may be overlooked in conservation campaigns, but they underpin life as we know it. Without them, forests wouldn\u2019t be able to regenerate and food chains could collapse.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so pleased to see this picture winning an award as prestigious as the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year,\u201d says Max. \u201cIt really helps to raise the profile of insects, and it helps people see these amazing creatures that, in some ways, are just as interesting and just as fascinating as the bigger animals.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think insect conservation is going to become more important as time passes,\u201d he concludes. \u201cIf you\u2019re a young person and interested in insect conservation, you can just go out to your local patch and find something interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n See the winning images<\/p>\n These winning photographs were chosen from a record-breaking 60,636 entries from 113 countries and territories.<\/p>\n The exhibition featuring the 100 awarded images opens on Friday 17 October 2025 at the Natural History Museum, London. Book your tickets now.<\/a><\/p>\n