12 stunning images of nature courtesy the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 contest
Having been run for 57 years by the Natural History Museum in London, the competition showcases exceptional nature photography from around the globe
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This startling image shows a group of cheetahs struggling in the torrents of a river in Kenya. When the Tano Bora coalition of male cheetahs leapt into the raging Talek River in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, the photographer feared they would not make it. Unseasonable, relentless rain (possibly linked to the changing climate) had, by January 2020, caused the worst flooding local elders had ever known. The photographer watched them being swept away by the torrents, faces grimacing. Against her expectations and much to her relief, all five made it. They emerged onto the bank some 100 metres downstream and headed straight off to hunt. Image Courtesy: Buddhilini de Soyza/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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This striking shot shows a lioness in Tanzania mid-meal, the bright red oxygenated blood dripping from her muzzle indicating that her wildebeest meal is still alive. The portrait captures the rawness of the moment and the intensity of the lioness’s stare. Image Courtesy: Lara Jackson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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In the wake of a fishing boat, a slick of dead and dying herrings covers the surface of the sea off the coast of Norway. Image Courtesy: Audun Rikardsen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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After a feed of special formula milk, an orphaned grey-headed flying-fox pup lies on a ‘mumma roll’, sucking on a dummy and cradled in the hand of wildlife-carer Bev. She was three weeks old when she was found on the ground in Melbourne, Australia, and taken to a shelter. Grey-headed flying-foxes, endemic to eastern Australia, are threatened by heat-stress events and destruction of their forest habitat. Image Courtesy: Douglas Gimesy/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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As dusk starts to fall, an Apollo butterfly settles on an oxeye daisy. The photographer captured the enchanting scene while on holiday in the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park, on the French-Swiss border. After numerous adjustments of settings and focus, the photographer finallyachieved his emblematic image, the whites standing out in stark contrast, and just daubs of colour – the yellow hearts of the daisies and the red eyespots of the Apollo. Image Courtesy: Emelin Dupieux/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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Three rose-ringed parakeet chicks pop their heads out of the nest hole as their father returns with food. Image Courtesy: Gagana Mendis Wickramasinghe/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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In deep water off the French Mediterranean coast, among cold-water black coral, the photographer came across a surreal sight – a vibrant community of thousands of narwhal shrimps. Their legs weren’t touching, but their exceptionally long, highly mobile outer antennae were. It appeared that each shrimp was in touch with its neighbours and that, potentially, signals were being sent across a far‑reaching network. Against the deep-blue of the open water, floating among the feathery black coral (white when living), the translucent narwhal shrimps looked exceptionally beautiful, with their red and white stripes, long orange legs and sweeping antennae. Image Courtesy: Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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Clutched in the coils of a golden tree snake, a red-spotted tokay gecko stays clamped onto its attacker’s head in a last attempt at defence. The photographer was looking at birds at a park near his home in Bangkok, Thailand, when his attention was caught by the loud croaking and hissing warnings of the gecko. It was being approached by the golden tree snake, coiled on a branch above and slowly letting itself down. As the snake struck, injecting its venom, the gecko turned and clamped onto the snake’s upper jaw. He watched as they wrestled, but within minutes, the snake had dislodged the gecko, coiled tightly around it and was squeezing it to death. While still hanging from the loop of its tail, the slender snake then began the laborious process of swallowing the gecko whole.Image Courtesy: Wei Fu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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Houses on the edge of Kakinada city reach the estuary, buffered from the sea by the remains of a mangrove swamp. Development has already destroyed 90 percent of mangroves – salt-tolerant trees and shrubs – along this eastern coastal area of Andhra Pradesh, India. Flying his drone over the area, the photographer could see the impact of human activities – pollution, plastic waste and mangrove clearance – but this picture seemed to sum up the protective, nurturing girdle that mangroves provide for such storm-prone tropical communities. Image Courtesy: Rakesh Pulapa/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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In southern California, USA, a juvenile white-tailed kite reaches to grab a live mouse from the clutches of its hovering father. A more experienced bird would have approached from behind (it’s easier to coordinate a mid-air transfer if you are both moving in the same direction), but this cinnamon streaked youngster had been flying for just two days and still had much to learn. Image Courtesy: Jack Zhi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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The fox was busy searching in the shallows for salmon carcasses – sockeye salmon that had died after spawning. The vixen was one of only two red foxes resident on the tiny island in Karluk Lake, on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, and she was surprisingly bold. As she came closer to the photographer, his companion and fellow researcher raised up the diffused flash for him. It was just enough to pique her curiosity, giving him an atmospheric portrait – studio-style. Image Courtesy: Jonny Armstrong/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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When the photographer spotted this tarantula hawk wasp dragging a tarantula across his kitchen floor, in Quito, Ecuador, he rushed to get his camera. By the time he got back, the giant wasp – nearly 4 centimetres long – was hoisting its victim up the side of the fridge. He then waited for the colourful wasp to level with his fridge magnets, then framed his shot to include this passing addition to his collection. Image Courtesy: Jaime Culebras/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021
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