Shane Gross has been awarded the top prize for his stunning image of a swarm of western toad tadpoles. Gross captured the shot whilst snorkelling through carpets of lily pads in Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
Selected from a record-breaking 59,228 entries from 117 countries and territories, the winners of the Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition also included Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, who was awarded the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 prize for his image of a minuscule springtail eyeing up some slime mould.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 winners
'Under the waterline' – Winner: Underwater/Matthew Smith, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Old man of the glen' – Winner: Plants and Fungi/Fortunato Gatto, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'The demolition squad' – Winner: Behaviour, Invertebrates/Ingo Arndt, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Life under dead wood' – Winner: 15-17 Years/Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Dolphins of the forest' – Winner: Photojournalist Story Award/Thomas Peschak, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'A tranquil moment' – Winner: Behaviour, Mammals/Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Rubies and gold' – Winner: Rising Star Portfolio Award/Sage Ono, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'An evening meal' – Winner: 11-14 Years/Parham Pourahmad, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Wetland wrestle' – Winner: Behaviour, Amphibians and Reptiles/Karine Aigner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'On watch' – Winner: Animal Portrait/John Marriott, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'The artful crow' – Winner: Natural Artistry/Jiri Hrebicek, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Practice makes perfect' – Winner: Behaviour, Birds/Jack Zhi, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'Free as a bird' – Winner: 10 Years and Under/Alberto Román Gómez Hombre, Wildlife Photographer of the Year'The swarm of life' – Winner: Grand Title | Winner: Wetlands, The Bigger Picture/Shane Gross, Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
