The Natural History Museum in London has announced the finalists for the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice awards, showcasing striking animal behavior captured by global photographers. According to the museum, voters from around the world can select their favorite images from a shortlist of 25 photographs, chosen from over 60,000 initial entries submitted from 113 countries and territories.
The Ferocious Encounter of Botswana’s Honey Badgers
Captured by photographer David Northall, an image titled “Spiked” depicts a fierce honey badger colliding with a Cape porcupine in Botswana. Known for their tenacity, honey badgers frequently challenge animals much larger than themselves, according to wildlife accounts. In this instance, the badger attacked the porcupine’s right leg, prompting the nocturnal rodent to reverse into its attacker and pierce it with sharp quills. Despite sustaining severe injuries during the clash, the badger retreated only briefly before finishing off the porcupine and dragging it into an underground den, as reported in competition entries.
Surviving Against the Odds: Rare Tigers and Geckos
In the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, India, photographer Prasenjeet Yadav documented a rare male tiger named T12 for an image titled “Dark Knight.” According to project background, T12 carries pseudo-melanism, a genetic condition featuring widened dark stripes that can make the animal appear entirely black. A decade ago, the reserve held fewer than seven tigers, leaving T12 as the sole known male. Against steep odds, he has since fathered subsequent generations, serving as a vital symbol of conservation hope in the region.
Meanwhile, in an image titled “The Brave Gecko,” photographer Willie Burger van Schalkwyk captured a small lizard confronting a southern pale chanting goshawk. While the southern pale chanting goshawk typically hunts by walking or running across the ground, the gecko put up a defense before being overcome, highlighting the raw dynamics of predator and prey interactions documented in the competition.
Breeding Explosions and Intimate Bird Moments
Heavy seasonal rains in French Guiana spark a phenomenon known as explosive breeding among local amphibians, documented by herpetologist and photographer Vincent Preme in “Concert in the Forest.” The sudden downpours fill forest ponds, drawing dozens of species out of the ground and down from the canopy to lay eggs. Among them, the Surinam golden-eyed tree frog produces calls loud enough to carry hundreds of meters across the damp landscape, according to field notes.
In Thailand’s Huai Chorakhe Mak Non-Hunting Area, photographer Ponlawat Thaipinnarong spent hours lying still in rice paddies to observe sarus cranes without causing disruption. His resulting image, “Beak-to-Beak,” captures a tender moment where a parent bird cleans its one-week-old chick and engages in close beak contact during evening rest periods on the nest.
Public Voting and Exhibition Plans
“Whether showcasing fascinating behaviour or platforming a powerful story, this year’s selection of images is truly exceptional, and we can’t wait to see which one will be chosen as the public’s favourite,” Natural History Museum Director Dr. Douglas Gurr said in a public statement. Public voting remains open through the Natural History Museum website, with the winning photograph ultimately slated for display in the museum’s flagship exhibition.
Worth a look