Gold in the Underwater category: Daniel Flormann, Lenuk Tasi. Olive ridley sea turtle, Kasait, Timor Leste. All images the photographers, courtesy of World Nature Photography Awards, shared with permissionOur Beautiful and Fragile Planet Takes Center Stage in the 2025 World Nature Photography AwardsMarch 4, 2025NaturePhotographyKate MothesFrom the glowing Milky Way above a Montana lake to firework-like flowers in the Brazilian savannah at sunset, the winners of the 2025 World Nature Photography Awards highlight the endless wonders of our planet. In categories running the gamut of animal portraits, landscapes, urban wildlife, and more, photographers around the globe captured incredible views of creature behaviors, terrestrial vistas, and astronomical phenomena.The World Nature Photography Awards were founded in the belief that we can all make small efforts to shape the future of our planet in a positive way, says a statement, and that photography can influence people to see the world from a different perspective and change their own habits for the good of the planet.Bronze in the Bird Behavior category: Mohammad Murad, A sword in the chest. White-cheeked terns, Kubbar Island, KuwaitThe 2025 edition of the contest saw thousands of entries submitted from 48 countries. The grand prize went to Marua Puheks bold image of two deer leaping through a vineyard.Many of the winning photos highlight the vulnerability of the earths inhabitants and juxtapositions between nature and the human-built environment. In Daniel Flormanns Lenuk Tasi, for example, a baby sea turtle glides just beneath the surface of the boundless sea, and in Ael Kermarecs Reclaim, a lava flow from an Icelandic volcano completely engulfs a road.Some of our other favorites include Marcio Esteves Cabrals vista full of rare Paepalanthus flowers illuminated by the sun in the Veadeiros Tablelands, Brazil, and Mohammad Murads capture of two backlit White-cheeked terns battling over territory on Kubbar Island, Kuwait.See many more winning photos and purchase printsincluding top picks from previous years competitionsin the WNPA store.Gold in the Plants and Fungi category: Marcio Esteves Cabral, Fireworks. Paepalanthus, Veadeiros Tablelands, BrazilBronze in the Mammal Behavior category: Donna Feledichuk, Might as well jump. Baby fox, Lac La Biche, Alberta, CanadaGold in the Landscapes and Environments category: Jake Mosher, Hyalite Twilight. The Milky Way over Hyalite Lake, Montana, U.S.Gold in the Nature Photojournalism category: Ael Kermarec, Reclaim. Volcanic eruption, Svartsengi, Reykjanes, IcelandSilver in the Urban Wildlife category: Elizabeth Yicheng Shen, Critical moment. Great grey owl, California, U.S.Bronze in the Animal Portrait category: Ngar Shun Victor Wong, The safari beauty. Guinea fowl, TanzaniaGold in the Amphibians and Reptiles category: Georgina Steytler, Mudskipping. Blue-spotted mudskipper (Boleophthalmus caeruleomaculatus), Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western AustraliaNext article