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9-year-old Brit wins prestigious award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

David BenjaminOctober 14, 2025

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING.CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025MANDATORY CREDIT: Jamie Smart/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.USAGE RESRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of The Weaver's Lair, an orb weaver spider inside its silken retreat on a cold September morning, taken in Wales by Jamie Smart, from the UK, the winner of the 10 Years and Under category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jamie Smart/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — Jamie Smart from the UK won the 10 years and under category in a prestigious photography competition with her piece titled ‘The Weaver’s Lair’. The image, shot using a macro lens, captures an orb spider waiting in a nest for unsuspecting prey to get tangled within it’s dew-covered web. Images from the sixty-first Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will be shown at the Natural History Museum in London and will open on Friday, October 17 2025, until Sunday, July 12 2026 (Picture: Jamie Smart/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Wim van den Heever/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of Ghost Town Visitor, a brown hyena among the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town taken in Kolmanskop, near Luderitz, Namibia, by Wim van den Heever, from South Africa, the winner of the Urban Wildlife category and the overall winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Wim van den Heever/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — This year’s overall winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year was shot by South African photographer Wim van den Heever and shows an extremely rare brown hyena. So rare in fact that it took van den Heever 10 years to get her perfect shot of the nocturnal species prowling through an abandoned diamond mining town. His photo, titled Ghost Town Visitor, was one among 60,636 entries from around the world all competing for the same coveted title (Picture: Wim van den Heever/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Andrea Dominizi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of After the Destruction, a longhorn beetle taken in Lepini Mountains, Lazio, Italy, by Andrea Dominizi, from Italy, the winner of the 15-17 Years category, and the overall title winner at the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Andrea Dominizi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — Jury member for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, Andy Parkinson, described ‘After the Destruction’ as ‘a compelling, but harrowing photograph’. Shot by Andrea Dominizi, the photograph raises questions around the environment, sustainability and protecting natural habitats. The image won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 award (Picture: Andrea Dominizi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Javier Aznar Gonzalez de Rueda/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of From Venom to Medicine, drops of deadly venom drip into a glass as an eastern diamondback rattlesnake is milked, taken by Javier Aznar Gonzalez de Rueda, from Spain, the winner of the Photojournalist Story Award category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Javier Aznar Gonzalez de Rueda/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — This image is just one from a series called ‘End of the Round-up’ by Javier Aznar González de Rueda, and his entry won the Photojournalist Story Award in this year’s competition. The series was shot in the United States and explores the relationship between humans and rattlesnakes centring around the annual rattlesnake round-up. In this shot, the photographer highlights the importance of these venomous reptiles to human health. The venom milked from this eastern diamondback rattlesnake can be used as an antivenom and as a potential treatment for chronic nerve pain (Picture: Javier Aznar Gonzalez de Rueda/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Jon A Juarez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of How to Save a Species, the groundbreaking science to save the northern white rhino from extinction through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), taken in Ol Pejeta, Nanyuki, Kenya, by Jon A Juarez, from Spain, the winner of the Photojournalism category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jon A Juarez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — ‘How to Save a Species’ by Jon A Juárez documents an enormous milestone in the quest to save the northern white rhino from extinction. The foetus in the image was the result of the first successful rhino embryo transfer into a surrogate mother through the method of in vitro fertilisation. Paving the way for the first northern white rhino embryo to be transferred into a southern white rhino surrogate (Picture: Jon A Juarez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Chien Lee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of Deadly Allure, the fluorescent world of an insect-attracting pitcher plant taken in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia, by Chien Lee, from Malaysia, the winner of the Plants and Fungi category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Chien Lee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — These beautiful almost alien like plants have a sinister side. Native to Malaysia, the pitcher plant holds pools of digestives juices at the bottom of their leaves, collecting insects after attracting them with their blue glow when exposed to ultraviolet light. Photographer Chien Lee shot these plants using a long exposure and UV torch just after the sun went down
(Picture: Chien Lee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

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EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Georgina Steytler/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of Mad Hatterpillar, a gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar taken in Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia, by Georgina Steytler, from Australia, the winner of the Behaviour: Invertebrates category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Georgina Steytler/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — This fascinating gum-leaf skeletoniser caterpillar shot by Georgina Steytler in Australia is also known as the Mad Hatterpillar thanks to its bizarre headdress. The caterpillar regularly sheds its exoskeleton and rather than discarding the head casings, it stacks them upon its own head creating a large structure that helps deflect predators. In Steytler’s image you can see the caterpillars living head at the bottom with the old casings piled on top backlit by the sunset (Picture: Georgina Steytler/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Qingrong Yang/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of Synchronised Fishing, a ladyfish snatching its prey from right under an egret's beak, taken at Yundang Lake, Fujian Province, China, by Qingrong Yang, from China, the winner of the Behaviour: Birds category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Qingrong Yang/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — This shot by Qingrong Yan from China demonstrates the patience and focus needed for a wildlife photographer. The timing of this photograph is everything, in the split second that the egret is about to snatch up its prey, the meal is stolen out from underneath its beak by a ladyfish. The fast 1/2500 shutter speed this image was taken with would have been needed to capture this fleeting moment (Picture: Qingrong Yang/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

EMBARGOED TO 2330 BST TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 PRINT USE ONLY. NO SALES, NO ARCHIVE, NO CROPPING. CAN ONLY BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM'S WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION 2025 MANDATORY CREDIT: Fernando Faciole/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Copyright in this image is retained by the photographer. THE FOLLOWING MUST APPEAR CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY IN EDITORIAL COPY: Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. USAGE RESTRICTIONS: Maximum number of images within a publication or website is up to 20 (twenty) images across multiple editions and pages unless otherwise agreed in writing between the publication and the Natural History Museum. All front cover requests must be approved by the Natural History Museum and the photographer. Undated handout photo issued by Natural History Museum of Orphan of the Road, an orphaned giant anteater pup follow its caregiver after an evening feed at a rehabilitation centre in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by Fernando Faciole, from Brazil, who was highly commended in the Photojournalism category, and the Impact Award Winner 2025 at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Issue date: Tuesday October 14, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Fernando Faciole/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. — This is only the second year that the Impact Award has been judged in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Fernando Faciole won the award this year with his photo of an anteater pup following its caregiver around a rehabilitation centre in Brazil, titled Orphan of the Road. The hope is that this pup will eventually be released back into the wild after its mother was killed by a vehicle, a common occurrence in Brazil. The shot highlights the efforts of centres like this along with other projects to make Brazil’s roads safer for wildlife (Picture: Fernando Faciole/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA Wire)

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