{"id":375398,"date":"2026-04-12T03:15:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375398\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T03:15:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T03:15:28","slug":"hyena-with-zebra-head-in-jaws-among-14-powerful-images-from-close-up-photo-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375398\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyena with zebra head in jaws among 14 powerful images from close-up photo challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

The winners of Close-up Photographers of the Year\u2019s\u00a0(CUPOTY) \u2018Death & Decay\u2019\u00a0challenge\u00a0have been announced,\u00a0with top spot going to Willem Kruger for his emotive image of a hyena carrying a zebra head in\u00a0South Africa’s Kruger National Park.<\/p>\n

“Early one morning during a game drive in Kruger National Park, my wife and I came across three spotted hyenas<\/a> walking along the road,” says Kruger. “One was carrying the head of a zebra<\/a>, presumably from a nearby lion<\/a> kill, and was heading straight towards us. In nature, almost nothing goes to waste \u2013 even hyenas have a family to feed, and they do it with remarkable commitment.”<\/p>\n

Kruger’s evocative shot is 1 of 14 close-up and macro photos\u00a0celebrated in CUPOTY<\/a>‘s winners’ gallery. Second place went to Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada for his poignant image of a male toad<\/a> clutching a dead female. Ga\u00ebl Modrak came third with an eerie underwater shot of a dead waterfowl chick.<\/p>\n

The CUPOTY challenge \u2013 designed to give photographers regular opportunities to showcase their close-up, macro and micro images \u2013 runs alongside the main annual CUPOTY competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ghostly scorpion among 23 mind-blowing images from Close-up Photographer of the Year<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TrueTrue Love – 2nd place. Credit: Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada\/cupoty.com
\n\"DeadDead Chick of the Pond \u2013 3rd place. Credit: Ga\u00ebl Modrak-Dead Chick of the Pond\/cupoty.com
\n\"AA Warning from the Wild – Finalist. Credit: Alex Pansier\/cupoty.com
\n\"TheThe Grip of Winter – Finalist. Credit: David Silsbee\/cupoty.com
\n\"EyedEyed Food – Finalist. Credit: Emanuele Biggi\/cupoty.com
\n\"TheThe Fly Wing Trophy – Finalist. Credit: G Ramaprasad\/cupoty.com
\n\"ParasiteParasite \u2013 Finalist. Credit: Jacek Hensoldt\/cupoty.com
\n\"FeathersFeathers in the Wind – Finalist. Credit: Jason Gilbody\/cupoty.com
\n\"TheThe Souls of the Swamp – Finalist. Credit: Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahumada\/cupoty.com
\n\"SerenadeSerenade – Finalist. Credit: Ken Bluma-Marionette\/cupoty.com
\n\"CrazedCrazed Paint – Finalist. Credit: Martin Malies\/cupoty.com
\n\"MallardMallard in Ice – Finalist. Credit: P\u00e5l Hermansen\/cupoty.com
\n\"BeeBee Meal- Finalist. Credit: Pete Burford\/cupoty.com
\n\"CraneflyCranefly Entangled in a Sundew – Shortlist. Credit: Ed Phillips\/cupoty.com
\n\"DeadlyDeadly Spikes – Shortlist. Credit: Emanuele Biggi\/cupoty.com
\n\"TheThe Catch – Shortlist. Credit: P\u00e5l Hermansen\/cupoty.com
\n\"IsIs It Cake – Shortlist. Credit: Nelson Milano\/cupoty.com
\n\"LoveLove is in the Air – Shortlist. Credit: Sophie Mijnhout\/cupoty.com
\n\"HyenaHyena Portrait Zebra \u2013 1st. Credit: Willem Kruger\/cupoty.com – Willem Kruger\/cupoty.com<\/p>\n

More amazing wildlife photography from around the world<\/p>\n

Staggering drone images show three colossal ‘whales’ rising from a forest in Thailand<\/a>
\n11 epic photos of the heaviest snake on Earth<\/a>
\nCrocodile under attack among 27 stunning images from the Capturing Ecology photo awards<\/a>
\nBreathtaking gorilla photos reveal the strength and beauty of these enormous mammals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The winners of Close-up Photographers of the Year\u2019s\u00a0(CUPOTY) \u2018Death & Decay\u2019\u00a0challenge\u00a0have been announced,\u00a0with top spot going to Willem…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-375398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}