Winner – Animal Portraits
Credit Federica Cordero
Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2025
The results of this year’s Nature inFocus Photography Awards were announced on November 15, 2025, during the Nature inFocus Festival held at Jayamahal Palace in Bengaluru, India. Submissions for this year’s awards totaled nearly 16,000 images from over 1,250 photographers from more than 38 countries. Here we show a selection of winners and want to congratulate everyone for the incredible work involved in capturing these special moments.
An intimate portrait of a young chimpanzee lounging on a twisted vine in the Ugandan forests earned Federica Cordero the Animal Portraits title. Location: Uganda, Africa.
Thief in the spotlight
Credit Sergey Bystritsky
Thief in the Spotlight by Sergey Bystritsky – Winner, Wildscape & Animals in Habitat
Sergey Bystritsky claimed the Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat award for a softly lit night-time glimpse of a fox in a forest clearing featured as an additional highlight.
In a cluster of unusually shaped trees, the photographer sets soft lights using flashes and fabric to guide a fox into view. With the setup blending into the canopy, the moment offers a brief look at an elusive visitor moving through the night. Location: Vashlovani National Park, Georgia
Shrouded in Snow
Credit Mohammad Murad
Shrouded in Snow by Mohammad Murad – Special Mention, Animal Portraits
Blanketed by frost in the Mongolian wilderness, a Pallas’s cat endures the aftermath of a snowstorm at -35°C. Perfectly adapted to its frozen world, this elusive feline’s dense fur, flattened ears, and high-set eyes allow it to vanish into the landscape. Location: Eastern Mongolia
Japon 2025 Day 28
Credit Philippe Ricordel
The Night Glider by Philippe Ricordel – Special Mention, Animal Portraits
Monmongas, or flying squirrels, live in Hokkaido, Japan. Though not uncommon, photographing them is difficult. They are small, fast, and nocturnal, active mostly at dawn or dusk. During mating season, this one finally peeked out of its nest, 5 metres high, long enough for a single photo. Location: Japan, Hokkaido, Obihiro
Life in Mud – In Zambia’s Busanga Plains, the rains bring back the mud that hippos love most. From above, they can be seen resting and playing in their muddy paradise on the African plains. Location: Busanga plains, Kafue National Park, Zambia, Africa
Credit Panos Laskarakis
Life in Mud by Panos Laskarakis – Special Mention, Animal Behaviour
The Nature inFocus Photography Awards honors photographers who capture remarkable moments in natural history and highlight important conservation challenges, creating an impressive collection of creative and artistic images each year.
Over time, the contest has transformed into a truly global celebration of wildlife photography, attracting participants from all across India and around the world. “What began as a national platform has grown into a diverse international community of photographers,” says Rohit Varma, co-founder of Nature inFocus. “Every year, the submissions offer new insights into the natural world and highlight critical conservation issues. The increasing number of participants and expanding geographic reach show just how global this platform has become.”
The Final Strike
Credit Rathna Varshini
The Final Strike by Rathna Varshini Choudhry – Special Mention, Animal Behaviour
During a safari in Dudhwa, the photographer watched a jungle cat drag a monocellate cobra onto the road, beginning a 20-minute duel of strikes and lunges. With quick reflexes and precision, the cat overpowered its venomous opponent and claimed its meal. Location: Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, Uttar Pradesh, India
Kittens on a rock
Credit Amit Eshel
The Curious Six by Amit Eshel – Runner-up, Animal Portraits
On the windswept steppes of Mongolia, six young Pallas’s cats emerge from their rocky shelter. Still dependent on their mother’s care, these eight-week-old kittens explore their surroundings with caution and wonder, offering a rare glimpse into the lives of this elusive species. Location: Eastern Steppe, Mongolia.
Green Within Green
Credit Pratik Pradhan
Green Within Green by Pratik Pradhan – Runner-up, Wildscape & Animals in Habitat
The photography contest accepts entries from both adults and young photographers. Winners are chosen in the categories of: Animal Portraits, Animal Behaviour, Conservation Photography, Creative Nature Photography, Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat, Portfolio, Coexistence (New category) and Young Photographer (Under 17 years of age).
Here, a Malabar gliding frog rests quietly on a yam-footed plant in the northern Western Ghats. Blending into the layered greens around it, the frog becomes part of the habitat—showcasing how these amphibians use colour and form to stay hidden. Location: Amboli, Maharashtra, India
The Pollinating Predator
Credit Debapratim Saha
The Pollinating Predator by Debapratim Saha – Special Mention, Animal Portraits
Though Northern Tree Shrews are primarily carnivorous, they are also known to sip nectar from coral flowers, aiding in pollination. These trees, in turn, support countless wild and urban species—reminding us to plant native species over exotic ornamentals.
Ancient rivals
Credit Amit Eshel
Ancient Rivals by Amit Eshel – Winner, Animal Behaviour
An Arctic Wolf shows signs of a recent hunt as a muskox herd forms a defensive circle, horns facing out to guard their calves. But chaos followed when the pack seized a few young ones and tore them apart for a small meal before moving on. Location: Ellesmere Island, Canada
The Rarest of the Rare
Credit Sergey Gorshkov
The Rarest of the Rare by Sergey Gorshkov – Special Mention, Wildscape & Animals in Habitat
In Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park, one of the world’s rarest big cats moves quietly through its forest home. The photographer recalls that the Amur leopard appeared for only a moment before slipping back into the dense cover of the trees. Location: Land of the Leopard National Park, Russia
Into the Sand
Credit Zhayynn James
Into the Sand by Zhayynn James – Special Mention, Animal Behaviour
A fringe-toed lizard uses its long hind legs and fringed toes to kick up sand as it burrows at the base of a desert plant, seeking relief from the heat. Captured with a fish-eye lens, the image shows the vast landscape, the lone bush, and clouds above. Location: Thar Desert, Rajasthan
Guardians of the Hive
Credit Rithved Girishkumar
Guardians of the Hive by Rithved Girishkumar – Special Mention, Young Photographer
In Kerala, stingless bees of the Tetragonula family guard the tube-shaped entrance of their hive, crafted from wax, resin, and mud. Their careful work and steady vigilance reveal the intricate lives of these small pollinators. Location: Mezhathur, Kerala, India
Development
Credit Archit Prajapati
Development by Archit Prajapati – Special Mention, Coexistence
Our world is a beautiful place, but development has altered our animals, birds, and their behaviors. We hope these photographers remind us of this and of how our expansion encroaches on their sacred spaces.
This image highlights how city development continues to expand while urban birds learn to adapt. On his way to work, the photographer discovered a colony of Bank Mynas nesting in a wall that had once been covered in writing. It’s a small reminder that even as development presses on, nature keeps finding ways to survive within it. Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Edge of Two Worlds
Credit Rajat Chordia and Vidhan Dwivedi
Edge of Two Worlds by Rajat Chordia and Vidhan Dwivedi – Winner, Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award
Winner, Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award. A young leopard feeds on a cow carcass beside garbage and fast-moving traffic—an unsettling reminder of how closely these adaptable cats now live alongside human settlements. Location: Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
Frogs in the Fringe
Credit Gaurav Patil
Frogs in the Fringe by Gaurav Patil – Special Mention, Ramki Sreenivasan Conservation Photography Award
When the monsoon arrives in Mumbai, leftover open spaces become temporary breeding grounds for Indian bullfrogs. As natural soil patches vanish, frogs turn to places like this half-built bus depot. Here, a male in breeding colours calls for a mate with parked buses forming the backdrop. Location: Borivali, Maharashtra, India
Next-door Neighbour
Credit Pruthvi B
Next-door Neighbour by Pruthvi B – Special Mention, Coexistence
Adaptable and elusive, leopards have long lived alongside people in many parts of India. As towns grow and natural habitats shrink, these encounters have become increasingly common. This moment—of a leopard slipping past an open doorway—captures the fragile relationship between people and wildlife in fast-changing landscapes. Location: Mysore, Karnataka, India
Race to the Forest
Credit Danuja Palihawadana Arachchi
Race to the Forest by Danuja Palihawadana Arachchi – Runner-up, Young Photographer
In Sri Lanka’s dry zone, a female elephant leaps over an electric fence as her herd follows, hurrying back to the forest at dawn after raiding nearby paddy fields. The scene highlights how shrinking habitats push elephants to navigate man-made barriers in their search for food. Location: Thammanawa Wewa, Sri Lanka
Cooling on the Coast
Credit Suliman Alatiqi
Cooling on the Coast by Suliman Alatiqi – Special Mention, Wildscape & Animals in Habitat
After days of fieldwork with local rangers, the photographer captures a Komodo dragon resting in shallow coastal water. As cold-blooded animals, they use water and mud to cool themselves and often swim or walk along the seabed while searching for food or mates.
A Bangalore-based media and production house dedicated to narrating stories that celebrate and champion nature. Founded by Rohit Varma and Kalyan Varma in 2014, Nature inFocus has built an inclusive community of wildlife photographers, filmmakers, researchers, conservationists, scientists and nature enthusiasts.
