Canadian Marine Conservation Photojournalist Shane Gross has been awarded the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 prize for his image “The Swarm of Life,” a photograph that shines a light on the magical underwater world of western toad tadpoles.
Gross captured the image while snorkeling for several hours through carpets of lily pads in Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, making sure not to disturb the fine layers of silt and algae covering the bottom of the lake. A near threatened species due to habitat destruction and predators, these tadpoles start their transition into toads between four and twelve weeks after hatching, but an estimated 99% of them will not survive to adulthood.
Kathy Moran, Chair of the Jury and Editor, said:
“The jury was captivated by the mix of light, energy and connectivity between the environment and the tadpoles. We were equally excited by the addition of a new species to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year archive. Over the last few years, the competition has highlighted environments and species that are often overlooked yet provoke the same wonder and delight when shared as the more typically photographed wildlife and wild places.”
Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas from Germany was awarded Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 for his up-close image “Life Under Dead Wood,” depicting the fruiting bodies of slime mold and a tiny springtail.
The Category Winners for this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year are:
• Alberto Román Gómez (Spain), Winner of the 10 and Under Category
• Parham Pourahmad (USA), Winner of the 11-14 Category
• Alexis Tinker Tsavalas (Germany), Winner of the 15-17 Category
• Igor Metelskiy (Russia), Winner of Animals in Their Environment
• John E Marriott (Canada), Winner of Animal Portraits
• Jack Zhi (USA), Winner of Behaviour: Birds
• Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod (Sri Lanka), Winner of Behaviour: Mammals
• Karine Aigner (USA), Winner of Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles
• Ingo Arndt (Germany), Winner of Behaviour: Invertebrates
• Justin Gilligan (Australia), Winner of Oceans: The Bigger Picture
• Fortunato Gatto (Italy), Winner of Plants and Fungi
• Ji?í H?ebí?ek (Czech Republic), Winner of Natural Artistry
• Matthew Smith (UK / Australia), Winner of Underwater
• Robin Darius Conz (Germany), Winner of Urban Wildlife
• Shane Gross (Canada), Winner of Wetlands: The Bigger Picture
• Britta Jaschinski (UK / Germany), Winner of Photojournalism
• Thomas Peschak (South Africa / Germany), Winner of the Photojournalist Story Award
• Sage Ono (USA), Winner of the Rising Star Portfolio Award
Next year’s competition opens on Monday, October 14th, 2024 and closes at 11:30am UTC on Thursday, December 5th, 2024.
Entrants to the adult competition may enter up to 25 images for a £30/~€36/~US$39 fee, which increases to £35 in the final week on Thursday, November 28th. There is an entry fee waiver for photographers entering the adult competition who live in Africa, Southeast Asia and Central and South America.
Entrants aged 18 to 26 may enter up to 25 images for free. Entrants 17 and under may enter up to 10 images for free.
To find out more on how to enter, go to www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/competition.
(Featured image credit: © Shane Gross/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)
