Our Photographer of the Year 2024 is underway. Each of the three winners (the overall winner plus two runners-up) will become a personal sponsor of a wild Hwange lion research collar. Winners and their partners will also join our CEO Simon Espley on a conservation safari in Botswana. Read more about the Photographer of the Year 2024 prizes here .
Photographer of the Year is now closed for entries. Final judging will take place throughout the month of June 2024, and the winners will be announced in July 2024.
Photographer of the Year is sponsored by Imvelo Safari Lodges . In association with Southern African Conservation Trust (SACT) and WILDCRU .
Here is Gallery 3 of the best Photographer of the Year submissions for this week. To see the other two galleries, follow the links: Gallery 1 + Gallery 2
A southern ground-hornbill with a bill full of nesting material. Kruger National Park , South Africa. © Ernest Porter A unique angle on a leopard climbing a tree – illustrating the strength and coordination required for such a feat. Maasai Mara National Reserve , Kenya. © Thomas Vijayan Fireside desert magic. Namib-Nauklift National Park, Namibia. © Andrew Morgan
“I was contributing to the work of a research team recording behaviour within a pod of sperm whales. That day, we were lucky to find several of the pod members together, socialising.” Port-Louis, Mauritius. © Vanessa Mignon Four of the ‘Famous Five’ cheetah brothers of Mara – who were also known as the Tano Bora coalition – take down a wildebeest. Only two members of the coalition are alive today. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Oyvind Pedersen A lesser jacana makes its way over the lilies, hunting for something to eat. Chobe National Park , Botswana. © Dewald Tromp The simple magic of a giraffe silhouette on the Maasai Mara horizon. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Amith Krishna Boys will be boys. Youngsters, painted in the tradition of their Omo Valley tribe, swing from the trees in Tumi, Ethiopia. © Xiaoyue Yan A capture of Shawnee Shipwreck during the witching hour, the winter night skies lit up with billions of stars. Skeleton Coast, Namibia. © Nabila Wissanji A pair of pygmy geese along the Chobe River. Chobe National Park, Botswana. © Lisa Di Leo Motherhood, with scars. Three Hamar women bear scars from the bull-jumping festival. At the festival, men demonstrate their prowess by running over the backs of bulls. During the festivities, women ask to be whipped by the men, with the ritual demonstrating their loyalty. In return, the men are forever indebted, their scars serving as a reminder that they are obligated to help the women when they are in need. Tumi, Omo Valley, Ethiopia. © Aimin Chen A hyena stops for its morning refreshment. Amboseli National Park, Kenya. © John Bykerk “When I encountered this hognose snake in Madagascar, it was evident she was on a mission. After a while she started digging and came out with a spiny-tailed iguana egg. I could not believe my luck to witness this behaviour. She ate several eggs in one go.” Palmarium Reserve, Madagascar. © Jochen Kruip Where the desert meets the ocean at Sandwich Harbour. Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia. © Joost Meyer A perfect sequence of carmine bee-eaters on the banks of the river. Mana Pools National Park , Zimbabwe. © Gail Odendaal The incredible adornments of a Mursi mother, including a lip plate – a symbol of beauty. Omo Valley, Ethiopia. © Luo Shaozhen “These endangered Clanwilliam redfin fish have realised that the waterfall that pours into this river pool carries food downstream. The fish are competing to be the first to find the meal. When they see a nibble, they shoot up to the aerated water to get it. Being the first to spot and take the food is like winning gold, and that’s how I felt when I snapped this head-on photo of a fish just before it was ready to have a nibble.” Cederberg Mountains, South Africa. © Geo Cloete “When the sky cleared, several beams of sunlight peeked through the foliage, highlighting this intimate moment between mother vervet monkey and infant. The scene reminded me of my own baby daughter, who had sadly passed eight months prior. As part of our healing journey, my wife and I went back to the beautiful Luangwa River, after which our daughter ‘Luana’ was named.” South Luangwa National Park , Zambia. © Roderick Jongschaap Serval kittens practise their hunting skills. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Andreas Hemb “From Entebbe, I set out to Mabamba Swamp by boat, hoping to find a shoebill. To enter the swamp, I transferred to a smaller canoe. That day, I was particularly lucky and spotted one shoebill. Shoebills are mostly sedentary and can remain as still as a statue for hours. To leave the shoebill undisturbed, I stayed in one place with the canoe and observed it for two hours. Besides blinking his eyes, moving his head a couple of times and stepping one step forward, he did not move at all.” Mabamba Swamp , Uganda. © Ilse Koks “In the vast grasslands of the Maasai Mara, a sub-adult lion found itself in a solitary feast amidst the aftermath of a kill made by a lion pride. The pride, having successfully taken down their prey, had already satisfied their hunger and moved away, leaving the sub-adult to enjoy its own meal. The young lion began to feast in the muddy surroundings, blood and muck covering his face and body. We got shivers from how he kept glancing at us as he ate.” Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Deepa Girish “A silverback gorilla looks out over a new plantation of bamboo – a conservation effort aimed at expanding Volcanoes National Park. The gorillas often venture out of the forest in search of eucalyptus trees grown by local farmers. By expanding the forest, there is hope that there will be more space for gorillas and less human-wildlife conflict.” Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda . © Richard de Gouveia A Harmonia axyridis ladybird forages in a Phylica pubescens fynbos flower. Jonkershoek Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa. © Riaan Wolhuter Honeymooners on the kopjes above the plains. Serengeti National Park , Tanzania. © Alia Noordin To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.
