2025 National Wildlife Photo Contest: Honorable Mentions & People’s Choice
See 61 honorable mentions and 4 People’s Choice picks from the 2025 photo contest
- NWF Staff
- Wildlife Photos
- Dec 17, 2025
SOMETIMES THE COMPETITION IS WARM AND FUZZY: With so many memorable entries to the 2025 National Wildlife® Photo Contest, we had to recognize a few more standouts. In addition to the winning photos chosen across nine categories, judges selected the 61 honorable mentions below from nearly 30,000 submissions by more than 3,200 photographers. Your voice counted, too! Nearly 4,600 of you voted on the People’s Choice award, resulting in the winner and three runners-up below. All of our honorees have something in common: nature’s ability to amaze. If you’re motivated to grab your own camera, our 2026 contest opens January 14.
2025 Honorable Mentions
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MAMMALS
Piet van den Bemd, Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands
Polar bear, Svalbard, Norway -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Devon Pradhuman, Seattle, Washington
Rough-skinned newts, Corvallis, Oregon -
BABY ANIMALS
Christopher Forslund, Box Elder, South Dakota
Black-necked stilt chick, Gilbert, Arizona -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Thomas Trogdon, St. Charles, Illinois
Hoverfly on purple prairie clover wildflower, Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Illinois -
BIRDS
Nicola Protani, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Common pochard, The Lipu Mediterranean Habitat Centre at Ostia Oasis, Rome, Italy -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Hannah Hammond, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin
Girl by a lake at sunset, Stoughton, Wisconsin -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Hannah Vanderlaan, Chicago, Illinois
Oak tree in autumn, Lake Redstone, Wisconsin -
MAMMALS
George Sanker, Bass Harbor, Maine
Least chipmunk, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming -
MOBILE
Ross Abraham, Fort Pierce, Florida
Brown booby, Fort Pierce, Florida -
PORTFOLIO
Deirdre D. Rosenberg, Pagosa Springs, Colorado
American pika, San Juan Mountains, Colorado -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Maksymilian Paczkowski, Dziećmierowo, Poland
Eurasian griffon, Monfragüe National Park, Spain -
BABY ANIMALS
Protik Hossain, Redmond, Washington
Red fox kits, San Juan Island, Washington -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Leon Jenson, Cody, Wyoming
Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming -
BIRDS
Cindy Kassab, Vancouver, Washington
Black-bellied whistling ducks, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas -
MAMMALS
Antoine Clément, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Young beaver feeding on branch, Verdun, Montréal, Canada -
MOBILE
Patty Tuggle, Saint Cloud, Florida
Sandhill crane silhouettes at sunset, Saint Cloud, Florida -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Victoria Greene, Starkville, Mississippi
American alligator, Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, Mississippi -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Jonathan Holmes, Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Mothing event, Brumley Nature Preserve, North Carolina -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Parham Pourahmad, Los Gatos, California
Coyote, San Francisco, California -
BABY ANIMALS
Julia Cook, Cody, Wyoming
Mule deer fawn, Cody, Wyoming -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Avilash Ghosh, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Bristly tropical cup fungi, Goa, India -
MOBILE
Glenn Mai, Arlington, Virginia
Brown bear sunrise on mudflats, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska -
BIRDS
Yan Zhang, Markham, Ontario, Canada
Prothonotary warbler, Ontario, Canada -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Kyle Soto, Gainesville, Florida
Green sea turtle, Boca Raton, Florida -
MAMMALS
Hira Punjabi, Thane, Maharashtra, India
Indian flying fox, Gujarat, India -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Colas Decloitre, London, England
Acatenango volcano, Sierra Madre, Guatemala -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Everett Libby, La Center, Washington
Seven-spot ladybird, La Center, Washington -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Glenn Mai, Arlington, Virginia
Walking among the bears, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska -
MAMMALS
Binh Nguyen, San Jose, California
Long-tailed weasel, Napa, California -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Gregory Green, Ferndale, Washington
Tule bluet damselfly, Ferndale, Washington -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Tinnapat Netcharussaeng, Bangkok, Thailand
Green sea turtle eating jellyfish, Koh Losin, Thailand -
BIRDS
Robin Backhouse, Manley, England
Neotropic cormorant, Pantanal, Brazil -
BABY ANIMALS
Iryna Obukhovska, Costa Mesa, California
Indri, Madagascar -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Luke Ciancio, Lake Barrington, Illinois
Young woman among massive redwood trees, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Simon Biddie, Edinburgh, Scotland
Southern stingray, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Josh Purvis, Apex, North Carolina
Double-crested cormorant, Apex, North Carolina -
MAMMALS
Yifan Ling, Seattle, Washington
Bigg’s orca, Bird Rocks, Washington -
BIRDS
Ram Savan, Seattle, Washington
Short-eared owl, Skagit Valley, Washington -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Greg Metro, Norwalk, Connecticut
Mount Nyiragongo, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo -
BABY ANIMALS
Deena Sveinsson, Estes Park, Colorado
Moose calf twins, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado -
BIRDS
Zhengze Xu, Shanghai, China
Adélie penguin, Antarctic Peninsula, West Antarctica -
BABY ANIMALS
Suliman Alatiqi, Kuwait City, Al-Kuwayt, Kuwait
Mantis shrimp with eggs, Lembeh Strait, Indonesia -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Christopher Baker, Madison, Alabama
Turtle basking on a log, Madison, Alabama -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lucas Garriga, Miami, Florida
Florida ivory millipede, Miami, Florida -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Simon Biddie, Edinburgh, Scotland
Ghost goby among coral, Marsa Alam, Egypt -
BABY ANIMALS
Devon Pradhuman, Seattle, Washington
Red foxes, San Juan Island, Washington -
BIRDS
Lori Tews, Salt Lake City, Utah
Mantid and rufous hummingbird, Antelope Island State Park, Utah -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Mike Mezeul II, Arvada, Colorado
Volcán de Fuego, Sierra Madre, Guatemala -
MAMMALS
Yaron Eini, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Black bear cub with mother, Canada -
BABY ANIMALS
Teresa Wood, Alameda, California
Juvenile female Argunata hians, Anilao, Philippines -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Keller Lindstrom, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Boreal owl, Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota -
BABY ANIMALS
Kallol Mukherjee, Singur, West Bengal, India
Gray langurs, Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Jose Alejandro Alvarez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
School of jacks, Isla del Coco, Costa Rica -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Leo Dale, Sonoma, California
Bobcat with prey, Point Reyes National Seashore, California -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Mike Mezeul II, Arvada, Colorado
Dissipating tornado beneath an emerging rainbow, Lockett, Texas -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Bernhard Schubert, Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Bornean giant forest ants and lanternfly, Kubah National Park, Borneo -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Mason Kaplan, Brooklyn, New York
Oxpecker and cape buffalo, Nairobi, Kenya -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Dara Ojo, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Longhorn beetle, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China -
MOBILE
Tosha Reisdorff, Modesto, California
Juvenile western fence lizard eating juvenile jumping spider, Modesto, California -
YOUNG NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Everett Libby, La Center, Washington
Jumping spider, La Center, Washington -
BIRDS
Stacy Gessler, Moscow, Idaho
Black-chinned hummingbird on echinacea flower, Moscow, Idaho
2025 People's Choice Award
People’s Choice Award Winner
Rob Cardinale
Lunenburg, Massachusetts
When Cardinale’s wife became interested in birding many years ago, the photographer turned his lens to birds as well. Luckily, there are plenty of subjects to be found on their 7-acre property. “Hummingbirds are funny because it’s sometimes hard to get such a still photo of them,” he says of this ruby-throated hummingbird. “You always see them heading toward or away from a feeder, so it was cool to see this one just hanging around.”
People's Choice Award Runner-Up
Karla Mayberry
Chesapeake, Virginia
Mayberry spotted this lilac-breasted roller while on a “bucket-list trip” to South Africa. “It was everything we had possibly hoped for and then some,” she says. “On this game drive we saw numerous birds, and this has to be one of my favorites with all its beautiful colors.”
People's Choice Award Runner-Up
Seshika Ratwatte
London, England
After moving to the United Kingdom from Australia, Ratwatte was feeling a bit homesick and decided to take a trip to the Scottish Highlands with a friend in the same situation. “From the moment we started our journey, we were struck by the beauty and expanse of the landscape,” she says. Upon seeing this red deer, she quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a shot. “The beauty of that scene was unimaginable. In that moment, we knew our big moves were worth it.”
People's Choice Award Runner-Up
Katara Gurugopal
Austin, Texas
Gurugopal, age 15, was photographing great blue herons on South Padre Island in Texas when she had the idea to switch to a higher shutter speed to better capture the birds in motion. “[Herons] always seem to move with a slow, deliberate grace, whether they’re flying or walking,” she says. “Their movements feel mesmerizing, and I wanted to capture this in my photo.”
Your Wildlife Photo Could Be a Winner
The 55th annual National Wildlife® Photo Contest is now open for submissions. First- and second-place winners in multiple categories receive cash prizes, and scores more receive honorable mentions—as well as the chance to see their photos published in print or online.
Amateur and professional photographers, this contest is for you. Show us your most memorable images of wildlife and wild lands, from around the world and your own backyard. Your photos inspire our millions of members and supporters to care about wildlife and to act on its behalf. By submitting your work, you also support the National Wildlife Federation’s mission, ensuring wildlife and people thrive in a rapidly changing world. Good luck!
