Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Ten incredible images  

The annual event at the Natural History Museum in London has announced its winners. Here's a selection of some of the best photographs from an exhibition that runs to June 2022

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London runs from Friday, October 15, 2021, to June of 2022. Picture: Adam Oswell (dee below )

Creation by Laurent Ballesta, France; Winner, Underwater, and Grand Title winner: A  trio of camouflage groupers exit their milky cloud of eggs and sperm in Fakarava in French Polynesia. For five years Laurent and his team returned to this lagoon, diving day and night to see the annual spawning of camouflage groupers.

Elephant in the room by Adam Oswell, Australia Winner, Photojournalism: Oswell draws attention to zoo visitors watching a young elephant perform under water. Elephant tourism has increased across Asia. In Thailand there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild.

The healing touch, from Community care by Brent Stirton, South Africa; Winner, Photojournalist Story Award: Staff at the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center in the Democratic Republic of Congo rehabilitate primates orphaned by poaching for the bushmeat trade. Here, the director of the centre sits with a newly rescued chimp as she slowly introduces it to the others. 

The spider room by Gil Wizen, Israel/Canada; Winner, Urban Wildlife: While in Ecuador, Gil Wizen found a venomous Brazilian wandering spider hiding under his bed, protecting its brood [the black dots]. Before safely relocating it outdoors, he photographed the human-hand-sized spider using forced perspective to make it appear even larger. 

The intimate touch by Shane Kalyn, Canada Winner, Behaviour, Birds: A raven courtship display in midwinter, the start of the ravens’ breeding season. Shane lay on the frozen ground using the muted light to capture the detail of the ravens’  plumage against the contrasting snow to reveal this intimate moment when their thick black bills came together. Ravens probably mate for life. 

Reflection by Majed Ali, Kuwait; Winner, Animal Portraits: A mountain gorilla closes its eyes in the rain. Majed trekked for four hours to meet Kibande, an almost-40-year-old mountain gorilla. As cooling rain began to fall, Kibande remained in the open, seeming to enjoy the shower.

Cool time, from Land Time for Sea Bears, by Martin Gregus, Canada/Slovakia; Winner, Rising Star Portfolio Award:  On a hot summer’s day in Hudson Bay, Canada, two female polar bears took to the shallow waters to cool off and play. Martin used a drone to capture this moment. 

Face-off, from Cichlids of Planet Tanganyika by Angel Fitor, Spain; Winner, Portfolio Award:  An intimate look into the lives of cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika. Two male cichlid fish fight jaw to jaw over a snail shell. Inside the half-buried shell is a female ready to lay eggs. The biting and pushing lasts until the weaker fish gives way.

Rich reflections by Justin Gilligan, Australia Winner, Plants and Fungi: The reflection of a marine ranger among the seaweed at Lord Howe Island, off Australia. It took three days of trial and error before Justin got his image.

Road to ruin, by Javier Lafuente, Spain; Winner, Wetlands - The Bigger Picture: The straight line of a road slicing through the curves of the wetland landscape. Using a drone, he captured the pools as flat colours, varying according to the vegetation and mineral content. Dividing the wetland in two, this road was constructed in the 1980s to provide access to a beach.