Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023: Highly Commended

The organizers of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest have been kind enough to share a preview of some of this year’s Highly Commended images. The full list of competition winners, and the Grand Title and Young Grand Title Awards, will be announced in October. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London. Captions are provided by the photographers and WPY organizers, and are lightly edited for style.

Snow Bison. Waugh caught sight of a plains bison kicking up flurries of snow over its bulky frame. From his vehicle, he saw the bison start to head downhill toward the road, gathering momentum, and he drew up to give it space to cross. Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. #

Forest Rodeo. Ohshima quickly framed an unusual interaction as a macaque jumped on a deer. A sudden movement behind the sika stag caught Ohshima’s eye. In an instant—using a tree as a springboard—a young Yakushima macaque jumped onto the deer’s back. Riding of deer by the monkeys of Yakushima Island is rare, but not unheard-of. Young male macaques have been seen clinging to female deer and trying to mate with them. In this case, however, the macaque was a young female, appearing just to be enjoying a free ride. Location: Yakushima, Kagoshima, Japan. #

The Vanishing Seal. D’Amicis was rewarded for his perseverance with this mosaic-like image of a Mediterranean monk seal. Working under permit, he stayed hidden on a ledge for several hours before a Mediterranean monk seal glided through the shallows and disappeared into a cave below. The reflections on the water helped hide this elusive seal and allude to the risk of the species totally disappearing. This species is now one of the most endangered mammals on Earth due to historic hunting and human encroachment on its habitat. Location: Greece. #

Race for Life. Zhou witnessed the drama of a snow leopard hunting a Pallas’s cat. When the snow leopard sprang into action, Zhou assumed it was after a marmot because "the Pallas’s cat blended in so well with the rocks." But in less than a minute, it was in the snow leopard’s jaws. Location: Gayi, Sichuan, China. #

Mason Bee at Work. Zankl carefully watched a two-colored mason bee build the roof of its nest. He knew the bee was memorizing landmarks around the nest so it could find it again. So as not to disorient it, he edged his equipment closer each time it left. After two hours, the bee was using his equipment as a landmark. Location: Near Witzenhausen, Hesse, Germany. #

Coral Connections. Mustard shows the biodiversity of a healthy coral reef as ghost gobies swim within the branches of a sea fan. He was determined to picture more than one goby in the frame. Capturing the vibrant, contrasting colors meant holding steady in the current to get a long enough exposure. Ghost gobies use gorgonian sea fans as a refuge or feeding platform, and perfectly blend into their surroundings. Location: Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. #

Fight to the Death. Doest shows the final moments of extreme distress felt by an elephant that had been hit by a train. The collision shattered the elephant’s hip beyond repair, and it had to be killed. Jasper, who was in the park on a different assignment, witnessed the episode. Despite the park director’s efforts to get the train company to slow trains, there are regular wildlife-train collisions in Lopé National Park, including up to 20 incidents with elephants a year. The trains transport manganese from the Moanda mine. Location: Lopé National Park, Gabon #

Mushroom Magic. Papatsanis illuminated swirls of spores appearing to dance beneath the gills of a deer shield mushroom. Intent on revealing the magic of spore dispersal, he set up umbrellas to minimize air flow, positioned a light and a reflector, and angled his camera to highlight this often-unseen action as waves of ethereal dust. Billions of these tiny, egg-shaped spores are dispersed by air currents. This wood-rotting fungus most often emerges on the stumps and fallen branches of broad-leafed trees. Location: Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece. #

Firebirds. Friedländer shows a pair of white storks in shimmering heat against the scorched ground caused by a controlled fire. Shortly after the controlled fire was lit in an area of Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve, hundreds of birds arrived, particularly storks and kites. Most kept a reasonable distance, but the storks pressed up to the front line in search of easy prey. Starting fires is a common, though controversial, way of managing grasslands to stimulate lush new growth and to control the spread of bushland. This can be a dangerous tactic, especially in times of drought, when fire spreads easily. Location: Rhino Ridge, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. #

The Catwalk. Harish was rewarded for his patience with a moment of eye contact and the curl of a leopard’s tail. He was on a trip to the Maasai Mara National Reserve when he heard that a leopard had been spotted nearby. After he spent many hours in a vehicle, searching and waiting, the leopard appeared, and he quickly changed lenses and settings to obtain this elegant portrait. Location: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. #

Possum’s Midnight Snack. Henderson found an unexpected guest on her balcony as a possum snacked on a large cicada. "There were heads here, wings there," she said. She had peeked out and spotted a common brushtail possum sitting on the windowsill. A quick reaction allowed her to photograph the possum hungrily dismembering a large northern greengrocer cicada while carrying a baby in its pouch. Location: Malanda, Queensland, Australia. #

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