“Fingertips” by Kate Burgess. Winner, Birds in Flight.
“Being able to capture both the ‘fingertips' of the feathers in flight and the cockatoo's head and feet in the background makes this a magical image for me. Shooting in burst mode enabled me to capture just the right composition.”

“Song of the Superb” by Nikki Kenwrick. Winner, Backyard Birds.
“There are several families of Superb Blue Wrens living at my mother's place, and I often sit and watch them popping around her garden. They are such happy little birds.”

“Wings spread” by Tai M. Winner, Youth.
“During a walk along the Victoria Quay I was shooting some photos of the seagulls flying around me, I noticed there were moments where they would fly directly above me. I tried for a shot like this one a few times but failed until I eventually captured one of the birds scratching itself mid flight.”

“Where there is smoke there is fire” by Martin Anderson. Winner, Portfolio.
“The portfolio consists of a sequence of images that I was lucky to capture of a Brown Falcon trying to steal a free meal from a Spotted Harrier. The Spotted Harrier (Smoke Hawk) had just captured a Golden-headed Cisticola, and this did not go unnoticed by the Brown Falcon perched in a nearby tree. The Spotted Harrier was doing its best to hide the kill in its plumage as it flew gracefully across the field, when the Brown Falcon (one of Australia's Fire Hawks) flew in to steal the prize. An interesting battle ensued and the prize fell to the ground unclaimed, the Harrier asserted dominance and the Brown Falcon left in defeat.”

“Morning! Time to get moving” by Veronica McPhail. Winner, Birds in the Landscape.
“Early morning movement from all residents along the south Perth foreshore. The swans awake and swim across the lake, looking for food.”

“Leapfrog” by Jason Moore. Shortlight, Birds in Flight.
“The classical flight shot of the Rainbow Bee-eater is the front on, wings spread “portrait”. I thought this side on perspective offered the viewer something a little unusual. I'm fond of the lighting in this image. The subject and perch are shrouded in shadow, but the distant background is being lit by sunlight, which has created a contrast between cool and warm colors which I find quite attractive.”

“Water trails” by Rebecca Harrison. Shortlist, Special Theme.
“A Little Egret takes off gracefully, leaving a sparkle of water droplets in its wake.”

“Anguish” by Kim Wormald. Shortlist, Human Impact.
“This was such a heart-wrenching situation, not only the adult's anguish at being entangled in nylon filament but also the juvenile's desperation as it tries to free its parent. I called a specialist rescue service that was unable to save this bird.”

“Casso-unwary” by Gail Yager. Shortlist, Bird Portrait.
“We were driving in Tully Gorge NP and pulled off the road. To our surprise, this young Southern Cassowary was standing there. He was as curious about us as we were about him—whilst maintaining a safe distance! I love the tilt of his head and the way his casque looks like a cap, which I have emphasized with the way I have cropped the photo.”

“Urban sentinel” by Stephen Spence. Shortlist, Backyard Birds.
“A White-faced Heron stands on the roof gutter of a house near the beach, its presence capturing the essence of the coastal surroundings. The black and white contrast adds depth to this urban encounter with nature. The image also captures the Heron's elegant presence, symbolizing an urban sentinel amid the coastal landscape.”

“Piercing” by Colin Driscoll. Winner, Bird Portrait.
“Just on sunset a female Australasian Darter looks up from preening after her final successful fishing session for the day. These birds are so angular it is difficult to get an interesting composition. This shot captures what these birds do under water. One can imagine this is the last thing a fish sees as the long neck launches that bill piercing it like a spear fisher would.”

“Two's company” by D'Artagnan Sprengel. Shortlist, Youth.
“Walking back to the car along the Coodanup Foreshore, I came across a large flock of what I believe were Little Corellas. They were feeding on the ground around the carpark. I saw these two perched together on an open branch and thought it would make a cute photo. I composed the image in portrait orientation and chose to overexpose the image to get a nice, clean, white background.”

A leucistic Australian Pied Oystercatcher catches the last light as it retreats to the mangroves. Cairns, Queensland, Australia

“Have you heard the one about…” by Franciscus Scheelings. Shortlist, Bird Behavior.
“While doing a bit of birding at the La Trobe University wetlands I noticed a large flock of Little Corellas on one of the ovals with several pairs rolling around in the grass. I got down as low as I could to fire off some shots and managed to get this photo of what looks like a couple of old friends sharing an hilarious joke.”

“Pollen Shower” by Guy Draper. Winner, Bird Behavior.
“I had spent several weeks returning to the same area of the park, watching and photographing a wide variety of native birds feeding on the Grass Trees. After taking a lot of front-lit shots, I set myself the challenge of getting some “last light” backlit shots, capturing some behavior with warmer light. I knew the instant I checked the back of the camera with this image that I'd captured a special moment, as the Yellow-faced Honeyeater showered itself in pollen as it plucked the flower from the stem!”

“Jambalaya on the Bayou” by Jason Moore. Winner, Special Theme.
“The somewhat messy, but beautifully coloured background inspired the title of this image. For those of you that don't know, The Carpenters released a hit song in the 70's called Jambalaya on the Bayou. It was a happy song with a tuneful beat, and it spoke of life on the Bayou… my thoughts of a Bayou include water everywhere, flooded cypress trees with Spanish Moss hanging from their branches, and swampland with wading birds…”

“Curlew construction consideration” by Gregory Abbott. Winner, Human Impact.
“One night in April, I went down to pick up a passenger off the late ferry. The Macleay Island jetty (then still under major reconstruction) was deserted except for myself and this attentive Bush Stone-Curlew. Both of us waiting. The Curlew just stood there as if the construction, signs, lights, and dead machinery had stumped it. I slowly walked to within a few meters and took the shot with my phone, then retreated a little. I too was somewhat stunned at the implications for wildlife of the multi-million dollar upgrade to jetty and the extended parking areas. I stood with the Curlew for a while. Then quietly I retreated to take a fenced in, man-made detour to the jetty proper. The concrete concentrations. Mine. The curlew's… where will it go?”

“Ice Bed” by Nima Sarikhani, UK. Location: Off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, Norway.
“A polar bear carves out a bed from a small iceberg before drifting off to sleep in the far north, off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.
Having spent three days desperately searching for polar bears through thick fog in the far north off Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, the expedition vessel Nima was on decided to change course. It turned and headed to the southeast, where there was still some sea ice.
Here, they encountered a younger and an older male and watched the pair over the following eight hours. Just before midnight, the young male clambered onto a small iceberg and, using his strong paws, clawed away at it to carve out a bed for himself before drifting off to sleep.”

“Tough Negotiation” by Ayala Fishaimer, Israel. Location: Judean Foothills, Israel
“Standing on a rock in the Judean Foothills of Israel, a red fox cub locks eyes with the shrew it had thrown up in the air moments earlier.
After the first Covid-19 lockdown, Ayala was in need of nature, and so headed out early one spring morning to the Judean Foothills in Israel. After an hour of driving, she arrived at the red fox den and, parking a safe distance away, waited. It wasn’t long before four cubs appeared and started to play.
This cub lost interest in its siblings and started sniffing around. Moments later, it pulled a shrew out of the sand and started knocking it around like a ball. Then, standing on a rock, the cub threw the shrew in the air. As it landed, Ayala caught the moment the hapless shrew and the fox locked eyes.”

“Curiosity” by Gerald Hinde, South Africa. Location: Greater National Park, South Africa
“Under the watchful eye of its mother in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park, a curious lion cub walks towards the photographer, who was watching from a vehicle.
Lion cubs are vulnerable to other predators, such as leopards and hyenas, but often, the main threat is from invading male lions. For the first six weeks, they’re kept hidden away; after this, they’re introduced to the pride and protection provided by all the members.
Gerald had parked his vehicle in the riverbed in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park. This was the first cub to come and investigate his arrival. Holding his camera out of the vehicle, close to the ground, he managed to get a low photographic angle of the cub’s activities.”

“Snowshoes” by Deena Sveinsson, USA. Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, USA.
“A snowshoe hare pulls its feet to its head to make the next big hop across the soft, deep snow in the forests of the Rocky Mountain National Park, USA.
It was a late spring morning, and Deena was snowshoeing deep in the forests of the Rocky Mountain National Park, USA when she noticed this snowshoe hare sleeping on a small snow mound. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she positioned herself in front of it.
Hours later, the hare woke and hopped off the snow mound in Deena’s direction. Using a high frame rate, she captured the exact moment in its hop where the hare pulled its large back feet up next to its head. Its large feet prevent the hare from sinking into the deep, soft snow, acting like snowshoes, hence its name the snowshoe hare.”

“Looking At Me, Looking At You” by John E. Marriott, Canada. Location: Chilko River, British Columbia, Canada
“A grizzly bear rises up on its hind legs and glances towards the photographer before returning to fish for salmon in the Chilko River in British Columbia, Canada.
John was leading a grizzly bear photography tour on the Chilko River when the group came across this bear salmon fishing. Allowing the current to take their small boat slowly past the bear, they watched it rise up on its hind legs as if to get a better perspective on the salmon in the shallow water.
As the bear was standing there, it momentarily glanced in the boat’s direction with a quizzical expression before returning to its salmon-fishing endeavors.”

“Missed Sip of Milk” by Karim Iliya, USA/Lebanon. Location: Off the coast of Rurutu, French Polynesia
“A humpback whale calf misses some of its mother’s milk, which drifts and swirls in the currents off the coast of Rurutu, French Polynesia.
In the seven years and hundreds of hours Karim’s been documenting humpback whales, he’s only seen whale milk floating in the water twice. Both times were on a diving trip off the coast of Rurutu, French Polynesia, with the same whale and her calf.
Humpback whales don’t have lips, so the calves can be clumsy and, on very rare occasions, miss some of the milk. Just as Karim was preparing to go back up to the surface, he saw the calf rising in the background and captured these strands of milk drifting and swirling in the current.”

“The Grassland Geladas” by Marco Gaiotti, Italy. Location: The Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, Ethiopia.
“A gelada suckles its baby alongside a companion at the edge of a plateau in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia.
Taken during the August rainy season, with looming clouds threatening a downpour, a gelada mother suckles her baby alongside a female companion. The gelada family unit, known as a harem, usually consists of one male and a small number of related females and their young.
Gelada monkeys live only in the high mountain meadows of Ethiopia, where they spend most of their time on the ground grazing. However, with the number of domestic livestock increasing, their grazing grasslands are now diminishing, pushing them into restricted areas. A gelada suckles its baby alongside a companion at the edge of a plateau in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia.”

“Shared Parenting” by Mark Boyd, Kenya. Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
“A pair of lionesses devotedly groom one of the pride’s five cubs in Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
Early in the morning, Mark watched as these lionesses groomed one of their five cubs in their territory in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. The evening before, they’d set off to hunt, leaving the cubs hidden overnight in dense bushes. Returning from their unsuccessful mission, they’d called the cubs out onto the open grassland.
Females raise each other’s cubs as their own, sharing parenting duties. Here the youngster was clearly enjoying the moment of affection and attention.”

“Opportunity Fox” by Matt Maran, UK. Location: London, UK
“A young red fox takes advantage of a bin stacked high with rubbish before collection day on a street in London, UK.
Over a two-month period, Matt watched a young male red fox learn the best time to climb into this street bin in London. It figured out it was Monday evenings, shortly before the weekly collection, when the rubbish was piled high, and any discarded food that rested on top was easy to get at.
Contrary to what most people think, an urban fox’s diet is made up of more than 50% natural food, such as earthworms, wild birds, seeds, and fruits. As a result, these animals play an important role in the urban ecosystem.”

“Neighborhood Dispute” by Ofer Levy, Australia. Location: Roebuck Bay, Australia.
“A mudskipper fiercely defends its territory from a trespassing crab in Roebuck Bay, Australia.
Mudskippers can live both in and out of the water as long as they remain wet. They thrive along the intertidal mudflats and mangroves of Western Australia. These amphibious fish are fiercely territorial, often building mud walls around their territories where they feed and breed.
This crab is evidently trespassing, and by opening its mouth and raising its dorsal fin, the mudskipper is challenging the intruder, attempting to scare it off with a threatening display. Ofer watched the two continually confront each other out on the mud flat—the mudskipper always initiating the clash.”

“Hope” by Roberto García-Roa, Spain. Location: Chimpanzee Conservation Center in the Republic of Guinea
“A rescued chimpanzee looks on from its enclosure at the Chimpanzee Conservation Center in the Republic of Guinea.
While photographing rescued chimpanzees at the Chimpanzee Conservation Center in the Republic of Guinea, Roberto captured this pensive portrait. Located in the National Park of Upper Niger, the center houses orphaned chimpanzees that have been rescued from being sold as pets after their mothers were killed for bushmeat.
Once abundant in Guinea, the western chimpanzee population is declining, and the species is now classified as Critically Endangered. The center rehabilitates the chimpanzees with the aim of releasing them back into the national park. It also works with local communities to show them why it’s important to protect the rainforest and its inhabitants.”

“Troublemaker” by Stefan Christmann, Germany. Location: Atka Bay, Antarctica
“An Adélie penguin approaches an emperor penguin and its chick during feeding time in Antarctica’s Atka Bay.
Stefan watched intently to see how the interactions between these three penguins would play out. Adélie penguins only appear in Antarctica’s Atka Bay for a short period during the southern hemisphere summer.
They’re opportunists and can be a nuisance for emperor penguins and their chicks. If the chance arises, Adélie penguins will try to cause the adult or the chick to drop its food while the chick is being fed, snatching any that falls to the ground.”

“The Happy Turtle” by Tzahi Finkelstein, Israel. Location: Jezreel Valley, Israel
“A Balkan pond turtle shares a moment of peaceful coexistence with a northern banded groundling dragonfly in Israel’s Jezreel Valley.
Tzahi was positioned in his hide in Israel’s Jezreel Valley, photographing shore birds, when he spotted a Balkan pond turtle walking in the shallow water. At first, he wasn’t interested in it and carried on watching the birds. It wasn’t until a northern banded groundling dragonfly flew past his lens in the direction of the turtle that his focus changed.
The dragonfly unexpectedly landed on the turtle’s nose, but instead of snapping up the insect, the turtle appeared to be experiencing pleasure from the interaction as they shared a moment of peaceful coexistence in the midst of the swamp’s murky waters.”

“Tender Touch” by Andy Parkinson, UK. Location: The Monadhliath Mountains, Scotland, UK.
“Two courting mountain hares come together to touch noses in the Monadhliath Mountains in Scotland, UK.
For 15 years, Andy’s been photographing the hares of Scotland’s Monadhliath Mountains, but in all that time, he’s never witnessed a moment like this. He was expecting the female to repel the male’s advances with the usual explosive boxing behavior, so included lots of space around them.
Unexpectedly, the two courting hares came together and touched noses. Acting quickly, Andy caught their special moment on camera. For him, this was yet more evidence of the highly complex social relationships that animals have with one another.”

“Starling Murmuration” by Daniel Dencescu, Germany/Romania. Location: Rome, Italy
“A mesmerizing mass of starlings swirl into the shape of a giant bird on their way to communal roosts above the city of Rome, Italy.
Daniel was mesmerized by the movements of the starlings as they formed colossal organic shapes in the sky. Each day, as they returned from foraging, they would gather in large numbers and perform spellbinding aerial shows, known as murmurations, on their flight home to their communal roosts.
In a bid to locate the best roosting sites at which to capture the spectacle, Daniel spent hours following the starlings around the city and suburbs of Rome. Finally, on this cloudless winter’s day, the flock didn’t disappoint, swirling into the shape of a giant bird.”

“Incoming Cuckoo Wasp” by Frank Deschandol, France. Location: Near Montpellier, France
“Near Montpellier, France, a cuckoo wasp is captured mid-air trying to enter a mason bee’s clay burrow as a smaller cuckoo wasp cleans its wings below.
Frank set up near the mason bee’s clay burrow, but it wasn’t this species he wanted to capture. Instead, he was hoping to photograph the rare cuckoo wasp that parasitizes these bees. He was in luck when not one but two cuckoo wasps appeared. The larger one tried to get into the sealed burrow containing the bee’s eggs, while the smaller one cleaned its wings below.
While Frank was taking some shots, the larger cuckoo wasp flew off, returning seconds later with a drop of water at its mouth. The wasp uses water and saliva to soften the clay so it can dig into the bee’s sealed-up burrow. Once inside it lays its own egg, then closes the burrow up again. When the cuckoo wasp’s egg hatches, it feeds on mason bee larvae inside the burrow.”

“Homecoming” by Dvir Barkay, USA/Israel. Location: The lowland forests of Costa Rica
“A pygmy round-eared bat returns to its termite-nest home as two well-camouflaged family members look out from the entrance in the lowland forests of Costa Rica.
Dvir spent more than two months attempting to get images of the rarely photographed pygmy round-eared bat in the lowland rainforests of Costa Rica. The bats exhibit a unique roosting behavior, resting in hollows that they carve out with their teeth inside the nests of termite colonies.
Using a nearby branch to support his camera, Dvir set up an infrared trigger near the entrance of the roost, together with three diffused flashes. This image shows one of the bats returning home as two well-camouflaged family members peer out from the entrance.”

“Rubbish Drinks” by Claire Waring, UK. Location: Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve, Indonesia
“A Celebes crested macaque investigates the contents of a plastic bottle from a pile ready for recycling on a beach at the edge of Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve, Indonesia.
On a beach at the edge of the Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, rangers had collected piles of plastic bottles for recycling. Most of them had washed up from the sea, and despite the sizeable pile, more would soon be added.
The Celebes crested macaques have learned that these bottles contain liquid and are often seen chewing off the caps to reach the contents. They’ve also worked out that the colored bottles are more likely to contain sweet liquid and so pick these. Some even carried bottles away into the forest, frustrating the rangers’ efforts.”

“Fashion Victims by Britta Jaschinski, Germany/UK. Location: Hamburg’s Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Germany
“These coats, made from the skins of some of the most endangered big cats, were confiscated by European customs officers and held for forensic tests before being used for educational events.
A rack of coats made from the skins of some of the most endangered big cats on Earth, including snow leopard, jaguar and ocelot, is displayed. Confiscated by customs officers across Europe, the coats were held in Hamburg’s Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change for forensic tests before being used at educational events to ensure they never return to the black market.
During the photoshoot, Britta learned that, on average, the fur industry uses 12 animals to make one coat. Together with a biologist, she tried to identify how many cats were killed to produce the fashion items in this image, but they stopped counting, as it was just too shocking.”

“Aurora Jellies” by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. Location: Tromsø, Northern Norway
“Moon jellyfish swarm in the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø in northern Norway illuminated by the aurora borealis.
It’s common for this species to gather in their hundreds under the aurora borealis. Sheltering his equipment in a self-made waterproof housing, Audun used a single exposure as well as his own system for adjusting the focus and aperture during the exposure. This enabled him to capture the reflection of the sky’s colors on the surface of the water and, at the same time, light up the jellyfish with flashes.
Moon jellyfish are common in all oceans and are easily recognized by their four rings, which are, in fact their genitals.”

“A Rare Sight” by Axel Gomille, Germany. Location: The Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia.
“The rarest species of wild dog in the world, the Ethiopian wolf, takes a rest among the highland vegetation of Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains National Park.
The summer greens and blues provide the perfect backdrop for the chestnut tones of the Ethiopian wolf’s coat in this serene image. The rarest species of wild dog in the world, there are only a few hundred left, surviving in the low-growing, Afro-alpine shrubland of the highlands of Ethiopia.
The Bale Mountains National Park, where this image was taken, supports the largest population of Ethiopian wolves. They’re threatened by habitat loss and diseases, such as rabies and canine distemper, which they catch from domestic dogs.”

“Bull In A Garbage Dump” by Brent Stirton, South Africa. Location: Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka
“A bull elephant kicks over garbage as it scavenges for rotten vegetables and fruit at a dump in Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka.
A number of male elephants are attracted to this location not only by the rubbish but also by nearby crops. The scar from a gunshot wound on the upper part of this elephant’s left front leg and another wound high on its back indicate he’s an insistent crop raider.
Human-elephant conflict often escalates from shouting and fireworks to frighten the elephants away from crops and people to shooting. The shots are seldom fatal and deter the elephants for a couple of months.”

“Autumn Glow” by Uge Fuertes Sanz, Spain. Location: The Cabriel River in the Sierra de Albarracín Mountains, Spain
“A painting-like composition of bulrushes and quaking aspens is framed in a small corner of the Cabriel River in the Sierra de Albarracín Mountains, Spain.
To Uge, this small corner of the river, among the bulrushes and quaking aspens, seemed as if it had been painted. The light and the composition of the plants between the trunks, together with the shapes and colors of the autumn leaves, created texture and balance.
He took more than a hundred images while on the banks of the River Cabriel in the Sierra de Albarracin Mountains, Spain, waiting patiently for a cloud to pass overhead so a soft light would wash over everything.”

“Duckling Huddle” by Charles Davis, Australia. Location: Smiggin Holes, New South Wales, Australia
“A wood duck and its brood are caught in a late spring snowstorm in Smiggin Holes, New South Wales, Australia.
It would normally be warm and sunny when these ducklings hatch from their nest high up in a tree hollow, but thanks to the La Niña effect things were a bit different this year. Warmer waters in the western Pacific meant more precipitation, resulting in more rain than normal in eastern Australia and cooler and wetter springs and summers.
Despite the conditions, the ducklings chose to exit their nest, dropping down into a frozen world. Upon landing, they quickly became lost in a snowstorm as their mother frantically tried to lead them to open water.”

“Maternal care” by Javier Aznar González de Rueda (Spain). Overall Winner.
“In Ecuador's largest protected area, Yasuní National Park, I was able to observe maternal care behavior in the stink bug Antiteuchus tripterus over a two-week period. The female bug guarded its clutch of eggs on a small branch. This behavior has been reported for other true bug species. To my surprise, it turned out that the mother bug not only protected the eggs but also the newly hatched larvae up to their first molt. In Ecuador's rainforest, the stink bug's brood is vulnerable to attack by numerous predators and parasitoids such as ichneumon wasps. Maternal care significantly increases the offspring's chances of survival. The rainforest is a highly complex ecosystem with countless organisms in a vast interconnected web of life.”

“Last dance?” by Jens Cullmann (Germany). Winner, Mammals.
“It was the height of the dry season in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. The days were hot and dusty, and water was a rare commodity in the southern part of the park. One of the last available watering spots was Chitake Springs. However, the springs are located in a gorge and are part of the territory of a large pride of lions specialized in preying upon buffalo herds that come to quench their thirst. In the dust kicked up as the buffaloes fled the gorge after drinking, the lion took its chance.”

“Silence” by Jan Piecha (Germany). Runner-up, Birds.
“The small town Tissamaharama in the south-east of Sri Lanka is the starting point for safaris to the famous Yala National Park. While in town, I enjoyed strolling through the rice fields in the evenings and stopping in at a flying fox colony at the shore of Lake Tissa. My walk took me along a lakeside promenade with elegant and stately trees. In one of them, I discovered this sleeping intermediate egret (Ardea intermedia).”

“Nighttime squadron” by Catherine Holmes (United Kingdom). Winner, Underwater World
“This image was captured in a quiet, shallow bay of Isla Espirito Santo (Mexico). The photograph shows a squadron of juvenile Munk's devil rays (Mobula munkiana) feeding on plankton attracted to a green light hanging off the stern of our boat in the dark of night. I used a slow shutter speed to capture the graceful, synchronized movements of the rays as they appeared to fly through the darkness.”

“Lichen dinner” by Roberto Bueno (Spain). Winner, Plants and Fungi.
“I found this unusual situation at an abandoned farm near Sintra, Portugal. A complete place setting had been left behind on a stone table. I was very surprised to see that the whole ensemble was covered in lichens. The table stood under a huge tree which most likely provided the shade and moisture needed for the lichens to grow over the course of decades.”

“Paradise” by Florian Smit (Germany). Runner-up, Landscapes.
“The photograph shows the fascinating landscape of an island in the west of Norway. The island is dotted with small lakes and many of its pines have a bonsai-like appearance. The scenery is reminiscent of a tropical landscape. The image was taken early in the morning before sunrise, while the fog was still wafting amongst the trees.”

“Tightrope artist” by Alberto Román Gómez (Spain). Winner, Young Photographers | 14 years and under.
“One afternoon in spring, my father and I set out to photograph birds. We drove to an agricultural area with many bird species. We decided to park the car and walk along a path through the fields. Almost immediately, I spotted a western yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) moving cautiously from one stalk to the next – sometimes almost losing its balance and looking more like a tightrope walker than a bird.”

“Octopus tango” by Francisco Javier Murcia Requena (Spain). Underwater World, Highly commended
“This photograph was taken in the early morning hours during a dive along the Mediterranean coast of south-east Spain. Already from a distance, I could see two common octopuses (Octopus vulgaris) intertwining their arms and moving continuously—a very unusual behavior. Perhaps a mating ritual or maybe a form of territorial defense requiring the animals to compare tentacle lengths?”

“Defeated” by Roberto Garcia Roa (Spain). Runner-up, Plants and Fungi.
“In August 2021, I found this spider near a small river in the Peruvian Tambopata rainforest. It was infested with a parasitic Ophiocordyceps fungus. This so-called “zombie fungus” infects arthropods by penetrating their exoskeleton. The fungus is able to control the behavior of its host. In this case, the spider was “compelled” to seek a location favorable for the growth of the fungus. After killing the host, the fungus fully metabolizes the inner organs of the spider and produces fruiting bodies that release spores to infect new victims.”

“Brookesia superciliaris” by Petr Bambousek (Czech Republic). Highly commended, Other Animals.
“Brookesia, also called leaf chameleons, are a group of Old World lizards endemic to Madagascar and are considered to be the world's smallest chameleons (< 10 cm long). They are terrestrial and forage among fallen leaves. The ability to change their skin coloration to match the environment and the tendency to stay still under threat make leaf chameleons almost invisible to their predators. In this photo taken from a distance, I have tried to depict Brookesia superciliaris in its typical habitat.”

“Pen and inkwell” by Jonathan Lhoir (Belgium). Highly commended, Birds.
“I'm lucky enough to live close to the Camargue, a perfect place to photograph pink flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus). This image shows a flamingo searching for prey in a muddy pond. The photograph was taken late in the day, with light cloud cover. Positive exposure compensation produced the high-key effect. The result reminded me of a paintbrush covered in ink.”

“Nest building” by Solvin Zankl (Germany). Runner-up, Other Animals.
“The two-colored mason-bee (Osmia bicolor) is a solitary bee species that nests in empty snail shells. After mating, the female bees search for suitable empty shells, which they then provision with masticated pollen and nectar. After laying eggs on the provision balls, the bees seal the shells and camouflage them with plant material. This bee is gathering dry twigs to cover her nest – ‘the more, the better', she seems to think, flying back and forth to accumulate an impressive pile.”

“Bird in forest” by Csaba Daróczi (Hungary). Winner, Birds.
“In the winter of 2022-23, I regularly visited a nearby forest to take photographs. Almost every week, I chose a new topic that I perfected over the course of several days. That is how I found this hollowed-out stump surrounded by tall trees. The opening is approximately half a meter in diameter. I put my GoPro camera inside, and the results were amazing. After a few days, I realized that the composition was missing something—an animal. I placed sunflower seeds in the hole and, soon enough, the first birds appeared, including this great tit (Parus major).”

“Wrapped up” by Marella (France). Runner-up, Man and Nature.
“Every summer, a small part of the Rhône Glacier in the Swiss Alps is covered with white fleece blankets to protect the ice from melting even further and to preserve the blue ice grotto—one of the region’s largest tourist attractions. This image is part of the long-term project Evig, which explores the glistening, eternal, yet also fragile beauty of glaciers using digital black and white photography and cyanotype printing.”

“Glencoe Highlands” by Dario Fernando Marelli (Italy). Highly commended, Landscapes.
“The spectacular valley of Glencoe and its eponymous village lie in the north-west Scottish Highlands. Glencoe played a tragic role in the history of the country in the 17th century; a feud between two opposing clans ended in a bloody massacre. Looking at today's idyllic landscape with centuries-old pine trees, it is hard to imagine that this was once the site of a terrible tragedy.”

“Lost at sea” by Angel Fitor (Spain). Winner, Man and Nature.
“Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) spend their lives unhurriedly roaming the high seas – the largest habitat on Earth – in search of edible morsels drifting in the water currents. As omnivores, the sea turtles feed on a wide variety of items, including jellyfish, salps, bits of seaweed and carrion. Because of their broad dietary interests, the animals are inevitably attracted by the brightly colored, eye-catching pieces of plastic drifting around in the world’s oceans. Many loggerhead turtles perish in agony due to intestinal blockage, just one of the many health concerns of ingested plastic.”

“Volcanic swirls” by Joel Delmas (France). Winner, Landscapes.
“This photograph was taken on Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland during the Geldingadalur eruption in 2021. I was there leading a photo workshop and the participants were thrilled to be able to photograph a volcanic eruption. The spiralling structures in the image arose as lava pushed out of a crack in an old lava field far from the main crater. The greatest challenges were to not overexpose the centres of the swirls and to prevent the drone from overheating and crashing on the hot lava. Despite being very careful, several small plastic components melted while the drone moved in close enough to get this risky shot.”

“Start of the cycle” by Aaron Gekoski (United Kingdom). Highly commended, Man and Nature.
“In South Africa, there are more than three times as many lions in captivity as in the wild. Every stage of the life cycle of a captive lion is fraught with suffering. Cubs are taken away from their mothers shortly after birth. This brings the female back into oestrus and increases the number of times per year that she can breed. Lion cubs are used as props for tourists who pay for the photo opportunity. Once cubs are too old to be handled in this way, they are often sold to ‘walking with lions’ operators. In the next life phase, lions are brought to hunting facilities to be shot by trophy hunters paying a great deal of money to bag a lion in a small enclosure. Lion skeletons are then exported to Asia where the teeth and claws are fashioned into jewelery and the bones are used as substitutes for making tiger bone wine. It is estimated that a lion born in captivity is worth up to $150,000 over the course of its lifetime.”

“Inside a tree den” by Jan Piecha (Germany). Highly commended, Mammals.
“I have been photographing raccoons (Procyon lotor) for several years and have had the opportunity to accompany various individuals with my camera. This female was raising her offspring in a large tree den and was not bothered by my presence. During the day, she would lazily let her head hang out of the burrow. In the evening, she would climb down the tree trunk with me standing right there. With a self-made, extra-high tripod, I was able to observe and photograph special moments in her family life.”

“Treasures of the sea” by César Llaneza Rodríguez (Spain). Highly commended, Plants and Fungi.
“This photograph was taken as part of my project On the sea shore. It shows diverse seaweeds washed up together on the shore by waves. At the center of the image, there is a shark's egg – most likely from a small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula). For this type of motif, I pay special attention to focus placement to ensure a balanced composition. To enhance the color contrast, I added side lighting using an LED panel with warm colors.”

“The ancient mariner” by Laurent Ballesta, France. 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Winner, Portfolio Award. Location: Pangatalan Island, Palawan, the Philippines. Technical details: Nikon D5 + 13mm f2.8 lens; 1/25 at f22; ISO 800; Seacam housing; 2x Seacam strobes.
“A tri-spine horseshoe crab moves slowly over the mud. Its golden protective carapace hides 12 appendages. Above the horseshoe crab, a trio of juvenile golden trevallies are poised to dart down for edible morsels plowed up by its passage. Laurent Ballesta went looking for horseshoe crabs in the protected waters of Pangatalan Island in the Philippines. Marine biologist and photographer Laurent Ballesta has dedicated his life to exploring the oceans and revealing their wonder through art. He has led a series of major expeditions, all involving scientific mysteries and diving challenges, all resulting in unprecedented images. The tri-spine horseshoe crab has survived for more than 100 million years but now faces habitat destruction and overfishing for food and for its blood, used in the development of vaccines. But, in the protected waters off Pangatalan Island, there is hope for its survival.”

“Owls’ road house by Carmel Bechler, Israel. Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Winner, 15-17 Years. Location: Hof HaSharon, Israel. Technical details: Nikon D7500 + Tamron 18–200mm f3.5–6.3 lens; 1.3 sec at f4.8; ISO 4000.
“Carmel Bechler discovered several barn owls in an abandoned concrete building near a busy road. Returning to where he had spotted a barn owl the previous year, Carmel and his father used the family car as a hide. He made the most of the natural light and used long exposure times to capture the light trails of passing traffic. Israel has the densest barn owl population in the world. A national project has provided nesting boxes near agricultural fields, encouraging owls to nest near farmland. Because the owls hunt rodents that eat seeds and crops, this arrangement has reduced the use of pesticides on farms.”

“Whales making waves” by Bertie Gregory, UK. Winner, Behaviour: Mammals. Location: Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. Technical details: DJI Mavic 2 Pro + Hasselblad L1D-20c + 28mm f2.8 lens; 1/120 at f4; ISO 100.
“Bertie Gregory tracks a pod of orcas as they prepare to ‘wave wash’ a Weddell seal. Bertie took two month-long expeditions searching for orcas. ‘We spent every waking minute on the roof of the boat, scanning,’ he says. After battling high winds and freezing conditions, he captured this remarkable behavior with his drone. These orcas belong to a group specializing in hunting seals by charging towards the ice, creating a wave that washes the seal into the water. With rising temperatures melting ice floes, seals are spending more time on land, and the behavior of ‘wave washing’ may disappear.”

“The unprotected” by Karine Aigner, USA. Winner, Photojournalist Story Award. Location: Texas, USA. Technical details: Sony RX1R II + 35mm f2 lens; 1/40 at f8; ISO 1600.
“Contestants line up to have their bobcats weighed in the March 2022 West Texas Big Bobcat Contest, the highest-paying predator-hunting contest in the USA. There are a number of prizes, one of which is for the heaviest bobcat. In 2022 the winner of that category took home US$35,530 (around £28,000). Karine Aigner documents the annual hunting competitions in Texas, USA. For some people in the USA, hunting wildlife is a pastime. In Texas, while there are strict regulations covering ‘game’ species, certain predators such as bobcats, mountain lions, and coyotes have no protection and can be killed at any time and by any means. In this portfolio, Karine delves deep into the contests and festivals that celebrate the killing of these unprotected and maligned species, exploring their relationship with humans.”

“Life on the edge” by Amit Eshel, Israel. Winner, Animals in their Environment. Location: Zin Desert, Israel. Technical details: Canon EOS R5 + 24–70mm f2.8 lens at 45mm; 1/800 at f8; ISO 500.
“Amit Eshel witnesses a dramatic cliffside clash between two Nubian ibex. After hiking to a vantage point on the clifftop, Amit slowly crept closer, using a wide-angle lens to set the action of two clashing Nubian ibex against the dramatic backdrop. The battle lasted about 15 minutes before one male surrendered, and the pair parted without serious injury. In the run-up to the mating season, part of the males’ coat darkens, and their neck muscles thicken. Rivals will raise up on their hind legs and ram their heads together. Their horns sometimes break as they collide.”

“The dead river” by Joan de la Malla, Spain. Winner, Wetlands – The Bigger Picture. Location: Ciliwung River, Jakarta, Indonesia. Technical details: DJI Mavic 2 Pro + Hasselblad L1D-20c + 28mm f2.8 lens; 1/25 at f6.3; ISO 100.
“Joan de la Malla provides a bird’s-eye view of the polluted Ciliwung river winding through Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. To find a time when lower air pollution allowed a clear view, Joan returned to the scene over several days. His image documents one of the most polluted rivers in the world and illustrates the growing global issue of river pollution. Plastic rubbish, human waste, agricultural fertilizers, and factory waste suffocates the Ciliwung River. As a result, Jakarta’s residents have to use groundwater for drinking water. This has resulted in widespread subsidence, and the city is now sinking.”

“The wall of wonder” by Vihaan Talya Vikas, India. Winner, 10 Years and Under. Location: Nallur Heritage Tamarind Grove, Karnataka, India. Technical details: Canon EOS 7D Mark II + Laowa 15mm f4 lens; 1/200 at f5.6; ISO 100; Vanguard tripod.
“Vihaan Talya Vikas watches as an ornamental tree trunk spider prevents its prey from escaping. This was Vihaan’s first visit to the tamarind grove. Fascinated by stories of the Hindu god Krishna, it seemed to Vihaan as if the spider had positioned its web after being entranced by the sound of Krishna’s flute. This spider is an orb weaver, which creates a wheel-shaped web of sticky threads to catch flying insects. As the spider grows, it elongates its web, which entangles anything that lands on it.”

“Alpine exposure” by Luca Melcarne, France. Winner, Rising Star Portfolio Award. Location: Vercors Regional Natural Park, Rhône-Alpes, France. Technical details: Nikon D850 + 600mm f4 lens; 1/5000 at f4.5 (+1 e/v); ISO 640.
“To enable an early ascent into ibex territory, Luca had spent a bitterly cold night in a temporary shelter in the French Alps, having skied for six hours across the natural park. Luca thawed his camera with his breath and took the ibex’s portrait. Luca Melcarne makes the most of his mountain guide skills to reveal the fascinating lives of Alpine animals. Born at the foot of the Vercors mountains in France, Luca is a professional mountain guide and nature photographer. He is addicted to the cold, constantly watching the weather to make his plans. This portfolio highlights the animals that live in the Vercors Regional Natural Park, where Luca lives and works. His remarkable images demonstrate how patience, perseverance, and passion are essential ingredients for dramatic wildlife photography.”

“Out of the blue” by Ekaterina Bee, Italy. Winner, 11-14 Years. Location: Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK. Technical details: Nikon D5600 + 18–55mm f3.5–5.6 lens; 1/1600 at f4.8; ISO 320.
“Ekaterina Bee shares her intimate encounter with some common bottlenose dolphins. Ekaterina’s trip to the west coast of Scotland was filled with wildlife encounters, but bottlenose dolphins were an unexpected surprise. From the boat, she composed this image, which highlights the surface patterns on the water created by the dolphins’ movements. Common bottlenose dolphins can be found throughout the world’s oceans except in polar regions. Living in small groups, they are highly social animals, and are one of the top marine predators living in Scottish waters.”

“The tourism bulldozer” by Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar, Mexico. Winner, Photojournalism. Location: Paamul, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Technical details: DJI Mavic Mini 2 + 24mm f2.8 lens; 1/320 at f2.8; ISO 100.
“Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar (Mexico) shows the devastating path of a new cross-country tourist railway line. To reach a point from where he could launch his drone, Fernando was guided through four kilometers (2.5 miles) of an underground cave system. The result of his challenging trek was this image. The government-funded railway line connecting tourist destinations brings economic benefits to Mexico’s southeast, but it also fragments ecosystems, threatens protected reserves and archaeological sites, and impacts Indigenous peoples. While trains are a more environmentally friendly form of transport, conservationists warn of devastating consequences.”

“Lights fantastic” by Sriram Murali, India. Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates. Location: Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India. Technical details: Canon 6D + 24mm f1.4 lens; 19 sec at f2; multiple exposures; ISO 6400; cable release; Manfrotto tripod.
“Sriram Murali showcases a night sky and a forest illuminated with fireflies. Sriram combined fifty 19-second exposures to show the firefly flashes produced over 16 minutes in the forests near his hometown. The firefly flashes start at twilight, with just a few, before the frequency increases, and they pulse in unison like a wave across the forest. Fireflies, which are, in fact, beetles, are famous for attracting mates using bioluminescence. Darkness is a necessary ingredient in the success of this process. Light pollution affects many nocturnal creatures, but fireflies are especially susceptible.”

“The tadpole banquet” by Juan Jesús Gonzalez Ahumada, Spain. Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles. Location: Ojén, Málaga, Spain. Technical details: Canon EOS R6 + 100mm f2.8 lens; 1/80 at f5.6; ISO 320; ring flash.
“Juan Jesús Gonzalez Ahumada watches as toad tadpoles feast on a dead fledgling sparrow. The drama unfolded near Juan’s home when a newly fledged sparrow launched itself from a nest on his neighbor’s roof and fell into a nearby pond, where it drowned. Juan had to pick his moment to show the tadpole formation and the sparrow’s eye. Common toad tadpoles have varied diets consisting of algae, vegetation, and tiny swimming invertebrates. As they grow larger, they become more carnivorous, so when a banquet like this arrives, they take full advantage.”

“Last gasp” by Lennart Verheuvel, the Netherlands. Winner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture. Location: Cadzand-Bad, Zeeland, the Netherlands. Technical details: Canon EOS R5 + 100–500mm f4.5–7.1 lens at 100mm; 1/80 at f7.1; ISO 1250.
“Lennart Verheuvel shows the final moments of a beached orca. Lying on its side in the surf, this orca had only a short time to live. Initially rescued, it was soon stranded again on the beach and died. A study later revealed that not only was it severely malnourished, it was also extremely sick. Research shows that orcas in European waters have the world’s highest concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls. These banned chemicals can persist for many years in marine food webs, weakening immune systems and reducing breeding success in whales, porpoises and dolphins.”

“Hippo nursery” by Mike Korostelev, Russia. Winner, Underwater. Location: Kosi Bay, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa. Technical details: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 17–40mm f4 lens; 1/320 at f7.1; ISO 640; Seacam housing.
“Mike Korostelev reveals a hippopotamus and her two offspring resting in the shallow clear-water lake. For over two years, Mike has been visiting the hippos in this lake and knew they were accustomed to his boat. He spent just 20 seconds underwater with them—enough time to get this image from a safe distance and to avoid alarming the mother. Hippos produce one calf every two to three years. Their slow-growing population is particularly vulnerable to habitat degradation, drought, and illegal hunting for meat and ivory from their teeth.”

“Silence for the snake show” by Hadrien Lalagüe, France. Winner, Behaviour: Birds. Location: Guiana Space Center, between Kourou and Sinnamary, French Guiana. Technical details: Canon EOS 100D + 10–20mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 11mm; 1/60 at f10; ISO 1600; 2x Nikon flashes; Panasonic PIR motion sensor; custom housing.
“Hadrien Lalagüe is rewarded for his patience with a perfect alignment of grey-winged trumpeters watching a boa slither past. Hadrien set up his camera trap by a track in the rainforest surrounding the Guiana Space Center. He spent the next six months maintaining the camera kit against high humidity, plastic-munching ants, and damage by poachers. This image was his reward. Trumpeters—named for their loud calls—spend most of their time foraging on the forest floor, eating ripe fruits, insects, and the occasional small snake. The boa constrictor, more than three meters (9.8 feet) long, could have made a meal of them.”

“Birds of the midnight sun” by Knut-Sverre Horn, Norway. Winner, Urban Wildlife. Location: Vardø, Troms og Finnmark, Norway. Technical details: Canon EOS R5 + 24–70mm lens at 42mm; 1/5000 at f8; ISO 100.
“Knut-Sverre Horn offers a glimpse of kittiwake chicks illuminated in an abandoned factory. From his vantage point inside an abandoned fish-processing factory, Knut-Sverre kept watch on the black-legged kittiwakes tending to their chicks on the windowsill. As midnight approached, the low summer sun struck the north-facing window, sharpening the birds’ silhouettes and giving him the image he wanted. Kittiwakes naturally nest on the narrow ledges of high, steep coastal cliffs. Recently numbers have plummeted, and some have headed for urban areas due to shortages of food caused by warming oceans and pollution.”

“Last breath of autumn” by Agorastos Papatsanis, Greece. Winner, Plants and Fungi. Location: Mount Olympus, Pieria, Greece. Technical details: Nikon D810 + 105mm f2.8 lens; 1/40 at f36; ISO 500; Godox flash + trigger; Leofoto mini tripod.
“Agorastos Papatsanis reveals the magic of a fungus releasing its spores in the forest. Long fascinated by fungi, Agorastos used his silver photographic umbrella to stop his camera from getting wet and covered his carefully positioned flash with a plastic bag. The colorful touches come from the refraction of light passing through the spore-laden air currents and rain. Parasol mushrooms release spores from the gills under their cap. Billions of tiny spores travel—usually unseen—in the air currents. Some will land where there is moisture and food, enabling them to grow networks under the forest floor.”

“Face of the forest” by Vishnu Gopal, India. Winner, Animal Portraits. Location: Tapiraí, São Paulo, Brazil. Technical details: Nikon D850 + 14–24mm f2.8 lens at 14mm; 1/30 at f6.3; ISO 1600; torch.
“Vishnu Gopal records the moment a lowland tapir steps cautiously out of the swampy Brazilian rainforest. Finding hoofprints on a forest track near his campsite, Vishnu waited nearby. An hour later, the tapir appeared. Using a long exposure and torchlight to capture texture and movement, Vishnu framed the tapir’s side-turned head as it emerged from the forest. Lowland tapirs rely on the forest for their diet of fruit and other vegetation, and in turn, the tapirs act as seed dispersers. This important relationship is threatened by habitat loss, illegal hunting, and traffic collisions.”

“The art of courtship” by Rachel Bigsby, UK. Winner, Natural Artistry. Location: Noss National Nature Reserve, Shetland, Scotland, UK. Technical details: Nikon D850 + Sigma 60–600mm f4.5–6.3 lens; 1/1600 at f11; ISO 5000.
“Rachel Bigsby frames a gannet pair against the guano-painted curves of sandstone cliffs. From her boat in turbulent sea swell, Rachel realized that achieving her vision of showcasing gannets set against the towering cliffs would be tricky. But as the boat aligned with the rocks, she spotted this pair ‘isolated on a lower ledge, intertwining their necks and framed by streaks of guano.’ Each summer, the Isle of Noss hosts more than 22,000 northern gannets, which return to breed on the ledges carved by the elements. This species was hardest hit by the 2022 avian flu outbreak.”

After being shot a male elephant shows its frustration as it angrily sprays water at the crowd of bystanders after one of them had tried to cut off the elephant's trunk. During the night, the elephant was hit by a train transporting manganese between Moanda (in Gabon’s Haut-Ogooué province) and Gabon’s capital Libreville. The collision scattered the elephant's right hip and a group of eco guards were called to the scene to do a full assessment of the incident. Since the elephant’s life couldn’t be saved, the park director decided it needed to be shot and that the meat would be distributed to the Lopé community. Unfortunately, the shot didn’t kill the elephant, and since there was only one bullet available the elephant is still fighting for its life. After the shot was fired, the animal got really angry and started throwing a railway tie through the air and spraying water at the bystanders, after which the bystanders started to fight back and started throwing rocks at the injured animal. Meanwhile, the community seems to have decided not to wait for the passing of the animal, but to kill it using machetes. NOTE: I was allowed to join but not allowed to photograph the shooting and the cutting.

An African forest elephant in the dense rainforests of Lopé National Park. Their preference for dense forest habitat prohibits traditional counting methods such as visual identification, but recent research using DNA from dung samples has estimated 95,000 forest elephants to exist worldwide, with Gabon being the stronghold for these large herbivores. African forest elephants are smaller than African savanna elephants, the other African elephant species. Their ears are more oval-shaped, and their tusks are straighter and point downward, which allows them to move through the dense vegetation more easily. African forest elephants live in family groups of up to 20 individuals and forage on leaves, grasses, seeds, fruit, and tree bark. Since the diet of forest elephants is dominated by fruit, they play a crucial role in dispersing many tree species, particularly the seeds of large trees which tend to have high carbon content. They are therefore referred to as the ‘mega-gardener of the forest'.

On a gloomy day, well before sunrise, a forest elephant grazes on the open savanna together with her young. Looking at the female, she’s clearly in bad physical condition, with individual ribs clearly visible, depressions in front and back of the pelvic bone, and a prominent backbone from tail to head, with deep depressions in the lumbar region. After analyzing over 2500 photos from 1997-2018, scientists from the University of Stirling have detected long-term declines in forest elephant body condition at Lopé. As this data is correlated to the decline in fruit production in the forest, these declines in both plant reproduction and elephant body condition are indicative of system-wide change and are expected to have disproportionate impacts on the functioning and metabolism of the ecosystem. As we realized the importance of this individual for our story, we tried to get closer, but soon after she fled into the forest. After speaking with Robin Whytock, this elephant would probably rate body condition 1-2 on the scale of 1-10 that was used during the study, with 1 being the lowest (Robbie: “basically dead”).

Elephant foraging from Detarium fruits. For Detarium macrocarpum to germinate, it has to pass an animal’s digestive tract. Therefore this species’ seed dispersal depends fully on the forest’s megafauna. The forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is the largest agent of seed dispersal in African rainforests. It has a digestive system that allows many seeds to pass undestroyed. NOTE: After the first shot the elephant got spooked by the strobes and left and never showed natural foraging behavior in front of the camera with strobes.

Chef de Service Lutte Anti-Braconnage (head anti-poaching) Landry Babenangoye holds the tusks of elephants that were hit by trains earlier this year. Until December 1, 2021, 12 elephants were killed by train accidents in 2021 (we will need to check the total number at the end of the year, as it’s likely that more incidents will follow as I’ve been told that December is the worst, as elephants are attracted by the ripe mangos growing in the area of the train track). Eco-guards managed to secure the ivory in most cases, as poaching for ivory is the most immediate threat to African forest elephants. All ivory is registered in Lopé and sent to Libreville after the registration process. Forest elephant populations declined by 62% between 2002 and 2011 and during that period, the species also lost 30% of its geographical range, with Gabon being the stronghold for this species. As this downward trend continues, the African forest elephant was declared Critically Endangered by the IUCN in 2021. Incidents with trains happen regularly in Lopé National Park (4 more accidents happened during my remaining two weeks in Gabon) as the track runs through Lopé National Park and crosses many natural corridors. While the park director had his team do a full assessment of possible conflict areas along the track, the railway company has not done anything with this information. The railway company also refuses the trains to slow down as a result of economic pressure as the trains mainly transport manganese, which is Gabon's second largest export product, accounting for roughly 11% of Gabon's total exports.

Edmond Dimoto and Lisa-Laure Ndindiwe Malata study the forest canopy during the monthly phenology study in Lopé National Park. Lopé hosts the longest continuous study of tropical tree phenology in Africa (G. S. Adamescu et al, 2018). From 1986 to the present, researchers at the site have monitored tree species that are important to the diet of gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants. Once a month, focal tree crowns are observed from the ground (via binoculars), and the proportions of each canopy that is covered with flowers, fruit, and leaves are recorded. The researchers used these data to quantify changes in the probability of encountering flowers, unripe fruit, and ripe fruit for 73 species over a 32-year period (1986–2018). They found that trees at Lopé are reproducing less often and that the probability of encountering flowers and fruit has declined significantly over time. It is likely that climate changes experienced at the site have contributed to this shift in reproduction. Global warming has caused the minimum daily temperature to increase, on average, by 0.25°C per decade at Lopé, which may be a key factor in reduced reproduction for some tree species that rely on a critical minimum temperature to trigger flowering. Rainfall has simultaneously decreased at the site by 75 mm per decade; thus, all tree species might be suffering because of water stress. Edmond Dimoto (48), was born and raised in the Lopé Department and has been doing these monthly observations since 1996.