Overview

• South African photographer Wim van den Heever took the overall prize with “Ghost Town Visitor,” which also topped the Urban Wildlife category.
• Organisers said the 61st edition drew a record 60,636 entries, underscoring the competition’s global reach under the Natural History Museum in London.
• Judges praised the photograph’s eerie power and its portrait of wildlife occupying a once human-dominated place, with jury chair Kathy Moran noting it feels like the hyena’s realm.
• Winners will feature in an exhibition opening October 17 at the Natural History Museum before a UK and international tour running to July 2026.
• Italian teenager Andrea Dominizi won Young Wildlife Photographer for “After the Destruction,” while Brazil’s Fernando Faciole received the Impact Award for an image of an orphaned giant anteater.