Maddie Molloy
BBC Climate & Science
Ian Wood / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A badger appearing to admire a Banksy-style graffiti version of itself has won the Natural History Museum’s 2024 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award.
Captured on a quiet road in St Leonards-on-Sea, England by British photographer Ian Wood.
Ian had noticed badgers emerging from a nearby sett to forage for food scraps left out for foxes.
“I spent the best part of two years photographing them, and this particular photo came about as an idea. I thought it’d be fun to put the graffiti there and see if I could get a badger walking underneath it,” he told the BBC.
Ian sees a deeper message in his photo around the controversial subject of badger culling.
Badger culling has been used to contain bovine tuberculosis but will end in England within five years as part of a shift in the fight against the disease, the government said last year.
Ian called badger culling “a national disgrace” and said: “I would swap this award immediately for the government to rescind all existing badger culling licenses.”
The 25 nominated images for this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award received a record-breaking 76,000 votes from wildlife photography and nature fans worldwide.
In addition to the winning image, four other finalists were highly commended.
All five images will be displayed online and at London’s Natural History Museum until 29 June.
Spiked by David Northall (UK)
David Northall / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A bloodied but determined honey badger pursues a Cape porcupine in Botswana.
After a quick retreat to lick its wounds, the badger returned to finish the job and dragged the porcupine back to its den.
Whiteout by Michel d’Oultremont (Belgium)
Michel d’Oultremont / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Look very closely – can you see the stoat?
It sits proudly in the snow, blending seamlessly with its surroundings in this snowy scene from Belgium.
Michel d’Oultremont had been on the hunt for stoats in the snow for years, fascinated by how they disappear into the white landscape.
After covering himself in a white camouflage net, he got his shot when a curious stoat popped out of its snowy den to check out its territory before heading out to hunt.
Edge of Night by Jess Findlay (Canada)
Jess Findlay / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
In this stunning shot, a barn owl flies out of an old barn to hunt in the fields near Vancouver.
Jess Findlay spent several nights quietly observing the owl to learn its habits and set up an invisible beam that would trigger a flash when it took off.
With a slow shutter speed to capture the surrounding light, everything came together perfectly on the tenth night as the owl made its move.
Earth and Sky by Francisco Negroni (Chile)
Francisco Negroni / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This amazing shot shows a double lenticular cloud lit up by the lava from the Villarrica volcano in Chile.
Francisco Negroni visits the volcano often to monitor its activity, never knowing what to expect.
On this particular trip, after 10 nights he captured the intense glow of the erupting lava lighting up the sky in a fiery, surreal display.
The stunning images that were also nominated
Mark Williams / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
British/Canadian photographer Mark Williams documents a beluga whale exfoliating its skin in the Arctic. Hundreds gather in these safe waters, away from predatory orcas, socialising and shedding old skin
Sue Flood / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
British photographer Sue Flood frames a Weddell seal resting on an ice floe in Antarctica. Using a long lens, she avoids disturbing the slumbering giant, which relies on blubber to survive the icy waters
Aaron Baggenstos / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
American photographer Aaron Baggenstos photographs a puma standing tall in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park. A conservation movement helped reduce conflict with local sheep farmers, offering hope for coexistence
Arvind Ramamurthy / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Indian photographer Arvind Ramamurthy captures an Indian wolf pack pausing mid-play in Bhigwan. As their habitat shrinks, conservation offers hope for these resilient predators to make a comeback
Bence Máté / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Hungarian photographer, Bence Máté watches a European roller ambush a little owl in Kiskunság National Park. Spending 27 days in a hide, he captures this fleeting moment of territorial defence
Brad Leue / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Australian photographer Brad Leue captures floodwaters surging into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in Australia. Photographing from a helicopter in strong winds, he documents this once-in-a-decade natural event
Carlo D’Aurizio / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Italian photographer Carlo D’Aurizio discovered a surreal collage of dead butterflies floating in a stream in Italy. It was not what he expected to find and still has no explanation of why the insects died
Devon Pradhuman / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
American photographer Devon Pradhuman captures four grey wolves crossing a snowy aspen grove in Yellowstone
Christian Brinkmann / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
German photographer Christian Brinkmann silhouettes a Eurasian blackbird against Münster’s fairground lights
Erlend Haarberg / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Norwegian photographer Erlend Haarberg shows a polar bear cub attempting an underwater attack on a northern fulmar. Though unsuccessful, this playful practice is vital for learning to hunt
Ivan Ivanek / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Czech photographer Ivan Ivanek captures a rare moment between red-shanked douc langurs in Sơn Trà Peninsula in Vietnam. Critically endangered, these primates are threatened by habitat loss and hunting
Jose Fragozo / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Portuguese photographer Jose Fragozo captures a cheetah cub hissing while waiting to be sold. Victim to illegal wildlife trafficking, this cub was later rescued and taken to safety
Michael Forsberg / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
American photographer Michael Forsberg captured a disguised biologist approaching an endangered whooping crane to check the bird’s health and change a broken transmitter
Noam Kortler / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Israeli photographer Noam Kortler captures a decorator crab perched on a sea squirt in Komodo
Nora Milligan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
American photographer Nora Milligan captures a thoughtful moment as a chimpanzee in Loango National Park pauses and looks down at its family
Piotr Naskrecki / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Polish photographer Piotr Naskrecki documents a rare four-toed sengi foraging in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. Skittish by nature, the tiny mammal follows the same trails daily, searching for insects
Samuel Bloch / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
French photographer Samuel Bloch captures a northern giant petrel nesting in a rātā tree forest on Enderby Island, New Zealand. Used to vast open oceans, this seabird’s presence in dense woodland was a rare sight
Savannah Rose / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
American photographer Savannah Rose documents a beaver dramatically smacking its tail in Jackson, Wyoming. This is a defensive behaviour that warns family members of newcomers
Vincent Premel / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
French photographer Vincent Premel photographs a Surinam golden-eyed tree frog calling for a mate, a call that is so powerful it can be heard hundreds of metres away
Willie Burger van Schalkwyk / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
South African photographer Willie Burger van Schalkwyk captures a giant ground gecko standing up to a pale chanting goshawk. Despite its brave fight, the gecko had no chance of survival
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