[imagesource: Amos Nachoum]

After waiting hours for low tide and the subsequent volley of seals swimming in the lagoon on the remote Antarctic island of Plano, Amos Nachoum caught the exact moment one stealthy leopard seal was about to chomp into a little Gentoo penguin.

That image, which you can see up top, made him the overall winning photographer for 2021’s World Nature Photography awards, a global nature and wildlife photography contest for planet Earth.

Photographs of that calibre came flying in from 20 countries across six continents, combining great science and great art to capture the wonders of the natural world.

As an added bonus, the competition also plants a tree every time someone enters the competition:

Our vision is of a planet in which climate change has been reversed and man’s relationship with the planet shifts to be one of protection rather than plunder.

We believe in the power of photography to put a spotlight on the majesty and wonder of the natural world around us, reminding us to take action now to secure a better tomorrow for us all.

The Guardian covered some of the winning images across the 14 categories, so let’s dive in.

This striking image of an orangutan in Borneo was snapped by Thomas Vijayan, the gold winner in the animals in their habitat category:

Vince Burton received gold in the black and white category for this shot of an Arctic fox walking through a snowstorm in Iceland.

Shame, sweet darling, you’re doing so well:

One of my favourites is this image of red ants crossing in Indonesia shot by Chin Leong Teo, Singapore’s gold winner in the behaviour – invertebrates category:

The common red ant is ingenious at traversing terrain. When front scout ants encounter a water obstacle, they intuitively form an “ant-bridge” with their bodies, so that their ant-mates at the back of the party can cross:

I mean:

For the animal portraits category, Tom Vierus took home gold for this tender shot of three long-tailed macaques hugging it out in Bali:

A vulture and African fox feasting on a wildebeest in Masai Mara, Kenya, got Ashok Behera gold in the behaviour – birds category.

That wildebeest’s engorged eye looking at us is an incredible touch:

Sabrina Inderbitzi was the gold winner in the people and nature category for this ice cave shot in Lake Baikal, Russia:

I crawled into this ice cave on the totally frozen Lake Baikal in Russia. First I didn’t like the fact that the car and the people were in the middle of my picture, but then on a second view I found it just perfect.

It certainly adds perspective:

You can see all the top shots, including the silver and bronze winners, on the competition’s website.

[source:guardian]