• 

  First-place winner, Black and White. An Arctic fox walks through a snowstorm in Iceland. #

  © Vince Burton / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  First place, Behavior—Mammals, and overall grand-prize winner. For hours, I waited for the low tide to arrive along a shallow lagoon on a remote island off the Antarctic Peninsula. Like clockwork, the leopard seal arrived in the lagoon just before low tide. It put its head in the water and looked just like a rock sitting in the receding water. The young gentoo penguins dare to enter the water only when it is shallow, and when they got close enough to the seal, it turned its head at lightning speed, catching one of the penguins by its feet and taking it to deep water. Once the seal reached open water, I followed it and swam parallel to it, observing its actions. To my surprise, it let go of the penguin twice. Each time, the seal chased after the penguin again, as if it was enjoying the game. The terrified penguin tried to escape as the game continued. But soon, the end came. #

  © Amos Nachoum / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Second place, Animal Portraits. This mother bear had had a long day of fishing, providing for herself and her cubs. When she sat down close to catch some rest, the two cubs continued to play. By lying down on the ground, I could capture an eye-level frame that vividly captured the expression of a watchful mother and the carefree nature of her cubs. Location: South Kamchatka Sanctuary, Russia. #

  © Neelutpaul Barua / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  First place, Behavior—Invertebrates. The common red ant is ingenious at traversing terrain. When the front scout ants encounter a water obstacle, they intuitively form an "ant bridge" with their bodies, so that their ant mates at the back of the party can cross. Location: Indonesia. #

  © Teo Chin Leong / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Third place, Behavior—Mammals. Monstrous rains in Kenya's Masai Mara in January 2020 caused one of the major rivers to flood and become larger and more violent than ever before. This group—the world’s only recorded coalition of five male cheetahs—was looking to cross the river amid terrifyingly powerful currents. After hours of careful searching along the banks, they suddenly jumped into the water and began trying to swim across this maelstrom as we watched, terrified they would be washed away or eaten by crocodiles. Their aim was to cross over to the other side, which was part of their territory and full of game. We screamed with delight as we saw them finally cross over about 100 meters downstream from where they jumped. #

  © Buddhilini de Soyza / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Second place, Urban Wildlife. Framed by the glow of street lights along Kuwait City, an Arabian red fox kit explores the night just outside its den. Arabian red foxes usually breed in the desert far away from humans; this is a really rare case that I monitored for almost three months. #

  © Mohammad Murad / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  First place, Urban Wildlife. I finally got the shot I wanted: a humpback's fluke with the downtown New York City skyline in the distance. As water-quality measures and conservation efforts have started to show real results over the past few years, humpback whales have become a more and more common sight in New York waters. #

  © Matthijs Noome / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  First place, Behavior—Amphibians and Reptiles. This shot came out of a “nothing” outing to a local park. It was the middle of a sunny summer day with harsh light and little activity. After going out with low expectations, I came across this tiny Pacific tree frog on a flower. After waiting for it to move into a more photogenic position on the flower, and trying repeatedly to catch the mottled light through the tree’s leaves above it at exactly the right spot, I got exactly what I was hoping for. It proved to me that there’s really no bad time to head into nature with a camera! Location: Outerbridge Park in Victoria, Canada. #

  © Shayne Kaye / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  First place, Animal Portraits. Three long-tailed macaques enjoy the warmth of one another during a hot day in Bali, Indonesia. The macaques are used to humans and are commonly found around temples, where they tend to eat food sacrifices donated by temple visitors. #

  © Tom Vierus / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Third place, Animals in Their Habitat. A solitary female polar bear slowly wandered along the ice edge in front of a huge glacial wall nestled in the bay of Isbukta, on the eastern coast of Svalbard. As I photographed her from a nearby zodiac boat, this enormous bear was put into perspective by the towering glacier and gave a sense of the vastness of the icy wilderness. #

  © Christian Tuckwell-Smith / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Second place, Behavior—Birds. A flock of red-billed queleas takes flight in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve. #

  © Robert J. Ross / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Second place, Behavior—Invertebrates. This hawk moth emerged after sunset to sip nectar from garden flowers, always hovering in mid-air as it fed in the dim glow of the surrounding houselights. Over several weeks in summer, multitudes of these moths emerge to do the same each night. In the evening light these hawk moths can be difficult to notice; however, their audible wingbeats give away their arrival. It's exciting to see that around homes in urban gardens, certain forms of wildlife can still thrive. Location: Kangaroo Valley Region, New South Wales, Australia. #

  © Lincoln Macgregor / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Second place, Behavior—Mammals. Two bull elephants spar with each other in Amboseli National Park, in Kenya. #

  © William Fortescue / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Second place, People and Nature. A scuba diver swims near a school of mackerel off Cabo San Lucas, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. #

  © Mike Eyett / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  First place, Nature Art. The natural creativity of San Quirico d'Orcia, in Tuscany, Italy. Waves, shapes, and tone created by light, in harmony with the universe. #

  © Riccardo Testi / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

• 

  Third place, Animal Portraits. A female puma and her cubs, seen in Patagonia, in Chile. #

  © Amit Eshel / World Nature Photography Awards
  Read more

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected].

Make your inbox more interesting.

Each weekday evening, get an overview of the day’s biggest news, along with fascinating ideas, images, and people. See more newsletters

Thanks for signing up!

See more newsletters

Ideas that matter. Since 1857.

Subscribe and support over 160 years of independent journalism.

Subscribe