Stunning Winners of the 2021 World Nature Photography Awards

Amos Nachoum (USA). Overall winner and Gold, Behaviour – Mammals. Location: Antarctica. Leopard seal chasing a Gentoo penguin.

From a hungry leopard seal to an icy cave on Lake Baikal, the natural world is on full display thanks to the winners of the World Nature Photography Awards. Nature and wildlife photographers from 20 countries submitted their work to the contest, which hopes to shape the planet through positive visual messaging. This year, American photographer Amos Nachoum was named the overall winner for his incredible photo taken in Antarctica.

In the image, a Leopard seal opens wide and prepares to finish off a defenseless Gentoo penguin. To get the shot, Nachoum waited for hours on a remote island on the Antarctic Peninsula for the moment when the tide was low enough for the seals to enter the water and seek out prey. His patience more than paid off when he was awarded with this incredible photo.

But Nachoum's is just one of many worthy winners of the contest. Across numerous categories, everything from animal behavior to Earth's landscapes is captured in rich detail. “As always, it’s such a thrill to see the amazing caliber of entries into the awards,” shares contest co-founder Adrian Dinsdale. “Seeing these images cannot fail to motivate one to do everything to protect this fragile planet of ours.”

Check out more winners from the 2021 contest and get inspired to do something for the planet today.

Here are the winners of the World Nature Photography Awards.

Thomas Vijayan (Canada). Gold, Animals in their habitat. Location: Borneo. Bornean orangutan.

Sabrina Inderbitzi (Switzerland). Gold, People and nature. Ice cave. Location: Lake Baikal, Russia.

Chin Leong Teo (Singapore). Gold: Behaviour – Invertebrates. Location: Indonesia. Red ants.

Tom Vierus (Fiji). Gold, Animal portraits. Location: Bali, Indonesia. Long-tailed macaques.

Juvenile California sea lion with mouth open

Celia Kujala (USA). Silver, Animals in their habitat. Location: Coronado Islands, Baja California, Mexico. Juvenile California sea lion.

Three-month-old female orangutan being operated on

Alain Schroeder (Belgium). Gold, Nature Photojournalism. Location: Sibolangit, SOCP Quarantine Centre, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Three-month-old female orangutan.

The photo contest hopes these images give the public a different perspective on the world.

Mike Eyett (Austria). Silver, People and nature. Location: Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Scuba diver with a school of mackerel.

Beautiful Landscape at South Island in New Zealand

Sam Wilson (Australia). Gold, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. Location: South Island, New Zealand. Landscape .

Shayne Kaye (Canada). Gold, Behaviour – Amphibians and reptiles. Location: In a city park, Canada. Pacific tree frog.

Gautam Kamat Bambolkar (USA). Gold, Plants and fungi. Location: Goa, India. Abandoned house.

Ashok Behera (India). Gold, Behaviour – Birds. Location: Masai Mara in Kenya. Vulture and fox feasting on wildebeest.

And that the photos will shape the future of our planet in a positive way.

Brown bear mother and her cubs in South Kamchatka Sanctuary

Neelutpaul Barua (India). Silver, Animal portraits. Location: South Kamchatka Sanctuary, Russia. Brown bear mother and her cubs.

Red billed queleas at a game reserve in Tanzania

Robert Ross (USA). Silver, Behaviour – Birds. Location: Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania. Red billed queleas.

Rare blue morph arctic fox in the snow in Iceland

Vince Burton (UK). Gold, Black and white. Location: Iceland. Rare blue morph arctic fox.

Federico Testi (Italy). Gold, Nature art. Location: San Quirico d'orcia, in Tuscany, Italy. Landscape with trees.

Humpback Whale Tail Emerging from the Water in New York City

Matthijs Noome (USA). Gold, Urban wildlife. Location: New York City. Humpback whale.

Elephants at Amboseli National Park, Kenya

William Fortescue (UK). Silver, Behaviour – Mammals. Location: Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Two bull elephants sparring with one another.

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Stunning Winners of the 2021 World Nature Photography Awards