Haunting Image of Rare Hyena in Ghost Town Wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 has announced this year’s winners. The grand prize was awarded to South African photographer Wim van den Heever for his haunting, cinematic image Ghost Town Visitor – a brown hyena caught mid-prowl in the dusty remains of an abandoned mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia.

It’s the kind of image that stays with you: surreal, still, and a little unsettling. Taken with a camera trap after ten years of returning to the same spot, this rare glimpse into a nocturnal predator’s world is a story of patience, loss, and wild reclamation.

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Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. Selected from a staggering 60,636 entries from 113 countries and territories, Wim’s photo stood out in what’s now officially the biggest Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition ever!

“For almost 10 years I have been visiting Kolmanskoppe in Namibia,” the photographer shares. “This abandoned Ghost Town that used to be a diamond mine is slowly being reclaimed by the harsh Namib desert.”

“From day one I have always dreamt about a photograph of an elusive and endangered Brown Hyena prowling the abandoned streets at night. I only once saw a set of Hyena footprints next to the ruins, but I knew the area is known for fairly good Brown Hyena activity.

I spoke to the security guard at the entrance of the Ghost Town about the frequency of sightings within the Ghost Town. He told me that they pass through every 4 to 6 weeks on average so I knew there was always going to be a possibility.

Every single time I visited the Ghost Town I’d set up camera traps in the hope of success. It took me 10 years to finally get this one single image of a Brown Hyena in the most perfect frame imaginable. I was ecstatic when I finally had success.”

“This image is an eerie juxtaposition of the wild reclaiming human civilisation,” said judge Akanksha Sood Singh. “It’s haunting yet mesmerising – a multi-layered story of loss, resilience, and the natural world’s quiet triumph.”

Other than the overall first place, this stunning photo brought Wim the top spot in Urban Wildlife category as well.

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Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Captures a Beetle Among the Ruins

In the junior category, Andrea Dominizi became the first Italian ever to win Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year. His photo After the Destruction shows a longhorn beetle clinging to rusted machinery in the Lepini Mountains, a forest region once logged for ancient beech trees. It’s a quiet moment, but full of tension – and a subtle reminder of how fragile these ecosystems are.

Judge Andy Parkinson called it “a compelling, harrowing photograph… one that encourages the viewer to contemplate the nature of this fraught relationship.” The image is as much about beauty as it is about the consequences of our choices.

The Impact Award

Now in its second year, the Impact Award celebrates stories of hope and conservation success. This year’s winner is Brazilian photographer Fernando Faciole, whose touching image Orphan of the Road shows a young giant anteater pup following its human caregiver at a rehabilitation center.

The pup’s mother was killed by a vehicle, which is sadly a common threat to the species in Brazil. The photo draws attention to the work of conservation projects like Anteaters and Highways, which builds underpasses and fences to protect these vulnerable creatures.

Judge Hans Cosmas Ngoteya summed it up beautifully: “This anteater symbolizes many endangered animals that rely on us for protection and care.”

Category Winners – Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025

From the tiniest invertebrates to vast underwater scenes, here are the category champions for 2025:

• Urban Wildlife & Overall Winner: Wim van den Heever (South Africa)
• Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Andrea Dominizi (Italy)
• Impact Award: Fernando Faciole (Brazil)
• Animals in their Environment: Shane Gross (Canada)
• Animal Portraits: Philipp Egger (Italy)
• Behaviour: Birds: Qingrong Yang (China)
• Behaviour: Mammals: Dennis Stogsdill (USA)
• Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles: Quentin Martinez (France)
• Behaviour: Invertebrates: Georgina Steytler (Australia)
• Oceans: The Bigger Picture: Audun Rickardsen (Norway)
• Plants and Fungi: Chien Lee (Malaysia)
• Natural Artistry: Simone Baumeister (Germany)
• Underwater: Ralph Pace (USA)
• Wetlands: The Bigger Picture: Sebastian Frölich (Germany)
• Photojournalism: Jon A Juárez (Spain)
• Photojournalist Story Award: Javier Aznar González de Rueda (Spain)
• Rising Star Award: Luca Lorenz (Germany)
• Portfolio Award: Alexey Kharitonov (Israel/Russia)
• Age Group Winners:
  • 10 Years and Under: Jamie Smart (UK)
  • 11 – 14 Years: Lubin Godin (France)
  • 15 – 17 Years: Andrea Dominizi (Italy)

Exhibition Opens at the Natural History Museum, London

The winning photos will go on display at the Natural History Museum, London starting October 17, 2025. The exhibition will also debut the Museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), a powerful new tool that helps track how much natural biodiversity still remains in ecosystems around the world.

Dr. Doug Gurr, Director of the Museum, calls this year’s edition “our best combination of great artistry and groundbreaking science yet.” So, if you’re in London, don’t miss it! And if not, the exhibition will tour internationally, bringing these powerful images of nature to audiences around the globe. But as always, we also bring you the winning gallery online so you can admire these stunning shots wherever you are.

Call For Entries

The sixty-second edition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year is now open for entries. You can submit your wildlife photos no matter your age or experience, and the deadline is 11:30am GMT on December 4, 2025. Adults may enter up to 25 images for a fee of £35, while entry remains free for younger photographers. Those aged 17 and under can submit their work for free, and those aged 18–26 can submit up to 25 images at no cost. Photographers from 114 countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America are also eligible for fee waivers.

This year introduces a major rule change: all forms of baiting are now completely banned, except when conducted for legitimate scientific research and clearly stated in the caption. As always, the winning images will be selected by an international jury and featured in the exhibition’s prestigious top 100. The grand prize winner will receive £5,000, along with the opportunity to showcase their work on one of the world’s most celebrated photography stages.

You’ll find more information and images on the Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s website.

[Editor’s note, Nov 13, 2025: This article has been updated to include the information on the call for entries.]

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