1 of 19
|
Winning image by French underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta of camouflaged groupers emerging from their eggs and sperm clouds in Fakarava, French Polynesia.
PHOTO: Laurent Ballesta / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
2 of 19
|
Andrés Luis Domínguez Blanco, from Spain, won in the category "11-14 years" for his photo of a warbler singing in the middle of a field of sunflowers.
PHOTO: Andrés Luis Dominguez Blanco / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
3 of 19
|
Israeli-Canadian photographer Gil Wizen won in the "Behavior: Invertebrates" category for this photo of a fishing spider stretching silk from its rows to weave it into its egg sac.
PHOTO: Gil Wizen / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
4 of 19
|
In the "Oceans: The Big Picture" category, American Jennifer Hayes won for her photo of bloodstained sea ice where harp seals were calving.
PHOTO: Jennifer Hayes / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
5 of 19
|
Italian photographer Stefano Unterthiner won in the category "Behavior: Mammals" for his photo of two reindeer fighting for control.
PHOTO: Stefano Unterthiner / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
6 of 19
|
In the category "Wetlands: the bigger picture", the Spanish photographer Javier Lafuente won for this shot of a road that crosses the landscape of the wetlands.
PHOTO: Javier Lafuente / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
7 of 19
|
Israeli-Canadian photographer Gil Wizen won the "Urban Wildlife" category after finding a poisonous Brazilian wandering spider under his bed.
PHOTO: Gil Wizen / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
8 of 19
|
Canadian-Slovak Martin Gregus won the "Rising Star Portfolio Award" for a shot of polar bears playing in the water.
Martin Gregus / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
9 of 19
|
In the "Natural Art" category, British photographer Alex Mustard found a ghost pipefish hidden in a feathered star.
PHOTO: Alexander Mustard / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
10 of 19
|
Australian photographer Adam Oswell drew attention to elephant exploitation in the "Photojournalism" category.
PHOTO: Adam Oswell / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
11 of 19
|
Canadian Shane Kalyn's take on a crows courtship display earned him the "Behavior: Birds" category.
PHOTO: Shane Kalyn / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
12 of 19
|
Kuwaiti photographer Majed Ali's photo of a mountain gorilla basking in the rain won the "Animal Portraits" category.
PHOTO: Majed Ali / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
13 of 19
|
In the "15-17 years" category, Finnish winner Lasse Kurkela captured a Siberian jay flying up to a fir tree to store its food.
PHOTO: Lasse Kurkela / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
14 of 19
|
Portuguese photographer João Rodrigues won the category "Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles" for his underwater shot of the courtship of sharp-ribbed salamanders in a flooded forest.
PHOTO: João Rodrigues / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
15 of 19
|
South African Brent Stirton won the "Photojournalism History Award" for his profile of a rehabilitation center that cares for chimpanzees orphaned by the bushmeat trade.
PHOTO: Brent Stirton / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
16 of 19
|
American Zack Clothier won the "Animals in the Wild" category after a grizzly bear took an interest in his camera trap near some bull elk remains.
PHOTO: Zack Clothier / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
17 of 19
|
Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Vidyun R. Hebbar captured the cobweb of a tent as an automated pedicab passed through India.
PHOTO: Vidyun R. Hebbar / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
18 of 19
|
Angel Fitor from Spain won the "Portfolio Award" for this photo of a battle between two cichlid fish for a snail shell.
PHOTO: Angel M.Fitor / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
19 of 19
|
In the "Plants and Fungi" category, Australian Justin Gilligan created a reflection of a marine ranger among the algae on the world's southernmost tropical reef.
PHOTO: Justin Gilligan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
(CNN) -
The winning images in the 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were released after a record number of entries were submitted, with a riveting underwater shot that took home first prize.
Organized by the Natural History Museum in London, the 57th edition of the contest featured 50,000 entries from 95 countries vying for a prize, with shots ranging from a reindeer battle to a poisonous spider hidden under a bed.
French underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta was crowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 for his photo of camouflaged groupers emerging from their milky cloud of eggs and sperm in a biosphere reserve in Fakarava, French Polynesia.
Canadian-Slovak Martin Gregus won the "Rising Star Portfolio Award" for a shot of polar bears playing in the water.
Martin Gregus / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Ballesta returned to Fakarava Lagoon five years in a row to capture the annual spawning that takes place around the full moon in July.
Camouflage groupers are a vulnerable species threatened by overfishing, the museum said in a press release Tuesday.
"In what could be a crucial year for the planet, with vital debates at COP15 and COP26, Laurent Ballesta's Creation is a compelling reminder of what we can lose if we do not address humanity's impact on our planet," Doug Gurr, director of the Museum of Natural History, said in the statement.
Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Vidyun R. Hebbar captured the cobweb of a tent as an automated pedicab passed through India.
PHOTO: Vidyun R. Hebbar / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Meanwhile, 10-year-old Indian photographer Vidyun R. Hebbar was awarded the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for his image of a carp spider in its web, against the backdrop of an automated pedicab that pass.
The winners were announced in a total of 19 categories, and this year featured three additions: "Wetlands", "Oceans" and "Natural Art".
PHOTOS |
The first images of the 2020 Best Wildlife Photographer award
Other winning images included Kuwaiti photographer Majed Ali's photo of a mountain gorilla basking in the rain, and a photo of fractured sea ice used as a birthing platform for seals, taken by American photographer Jennifer Hayes.
The 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest begins on October 18.
Photography
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/HXTIXWY4CZBOVEEG4LB5KEE354.jpg)
