Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 – first images
Norwegian photographer Audun Rikardsen's image of a slick of dead and dying herrings was used as evidence in a court case against the owner of a fishing boat.
Audun Rikardsen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
US photographer Jonny Armstrong captured this fox searching for salmon carcasses in Alaska.
Jonny Armstrong/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Spanish photographer Sergio Marijuán took this photo of an Iberian lynx in the doorway of an abandoned hayloft in the Sierra Morena.
Sergio Marijuán/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This image of a lioness dripping with bright red blood was taken by British photographer Lara Jackson in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Lara Jackson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Mangrove swamps provide a buffer between Kakinada city and the sea in Andhra Pradesh, India, as shot by Indian photographer Rakesh Pulapa.
Rakesh Pulapa/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
French photographer Laurent Ballesta found thousands of narwhal shrimp in deep water in the French Mediterranean.
Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Wei Fu, from Thailand, captured this struggle between a golden tree snake and a red-spotted tokay gecko.
Wei Fu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Sri Lankan-Australian photographer Buddhilini de Soyza feared these male cheetahs wouldn't make it out of a flooded river in Masai Mara, Kenya.
Buddhilini de Soyza/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An Apollo butterfly lands on an oxeye daisy in the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park, eastern France, as shot by French photographer Emelin Dupieux.
Emelin Dupieux/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
US photographer Jack Zhi shot this image of a young white-tailed kite taking a live mouse from its father in mid-air.
Jack Zhi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Romanian photographer Gheorghe Popa took this shot of a small river in the Apuseni Mountains which has taken on these vivid colors due to toxic waste from a nearby mine.
Gheorghe Popa/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Sri Lankan photographer Gagana Mendis Wickramasinghe's image shows a male rose-ringed parakeet feeding three chicks.
Gagana Mendis Wickramasinghe/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Spanish photographer Jaime Culebras spotted this tarantula hawk wasp dragging a tarantula up his fridge in Quito, Ecuador.
Jaime Culebras/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
German-Australian photographer Juergen Freund took this photo of ghost fungus after monsoon rains near his home in Queensland, Australia.
Juergen Freund/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This orphaned gray-headed flying fox was caught on camera by Australian photographer Douglas Gimesy.
