A brown hyena exploring an abandoned mining town and a beetle perched amidst its forest surroundings being destroyed have been named the champions of this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The Natural History Museum in London revealed the two main winners and 19 category winners on Wednesday, continuing the tradition of the competition for over six decades.
Wim van den Heever, a wildlife photographer from South Africa, clinched the Wildlife Photographer of the Year title with his photograph “Ghost Town Visitor.” The captivating image showcases a brown hyena in the night amidst the ruins of an abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia. These hyenas pass through the town en route to the Namib Desert coast to hunt cape fur seal pups. Van den Heever had been tracking the rare hyena species in Kolmanskop for ten years before capturing this perfect shot, describing the moment as ecstatic.
Italian photographer Andrea Dominizi secured the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title with his close-up image “After the Destruction,” featuring a longhorn beetle perched on a mossy log overlooking a logging machine in the Lepini Mountains of central Italy.
Shane Gross, a photographer from Nanaimo, British Columbia, who won the grand title last year, was the sole Canadian category winner in 2025 with his photo “Like an Eel out of Water.” Gross captured this image while working on an assignment for the non-profit Save Our Seas Foundation at D’Arros Island in the Seychelles archipelago in Africa.
The winning photographs, selected from over 60,000 entries, will be part of an exhibition opening at the Natural History Museum in London this Friday. Canadians will have the opportunity to view the exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto from November 8, 2025, to March 29, 2026.