Public given chance to vote for favourite wildlife image from ‘exceptional’ list

A 25-strong shortlist of images taken from entries to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest is being put to a public vote.

A beluga whale with its head and tail out of the water — A beluga whale rubs on a shallow river bottom to exfoliate its skin (Mark Williams/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

The public are being urged to vote for their favourite nature image from an “exceptional” shortlist for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year people’s choice award.

A determined honey badger trying to catch a spiky meal, a beluga doing a spot of exfoliating, an Indian wolf pack pausing in play and an image of a cheetah cub waiting to be sold at a market, are among the 25 images shortlisted for the public vote.

A European roller bird flying upside down defending its territory from a little owl sitting on a branch — A European roller bird defends its territory from a little owl in Kiskunsag National Park, Hungary (Bence Mate/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

They have been selected from the 59,228 entries to this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, in addition to the contest’s 100 winning images announced in October, by the Natural History Museum, London, and an international judging panel.

Now the public can have their say on the images, voting for their favourite picture online or using digital screens at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the museum in London.

A badger looks in the direction of graffiti of a badger holding guns on a wall at night — A badger appears to check out badger graffiti on a quiet English road (Ian Wood/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

The shortlisted images include the moment a European roller bird defends its territory from a bemused-looking little owl, a badger checking out badger graffiti on a quiet road, a puma in rugged mountain terrain, and a polar bear cub attempting an underwater attack on a northern fulmar.

Dr Douglas Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said: “The people’s choice award allows members of the public from across the globe to join the jury and vote for their winning image, inspiring everyone to connect with the natural world.”

A honey badger with porcupine quills embedded in it behind a porcupine — A honey badger gets spiked as it tries to catch a porcupine dinner (David Northall/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

Dr Gurr added: “As always, this year’s selection of images for the competition’s 60th anniversary is truly exceptional, and we can’t wait to see which one will be chosen as the public’s favourite.”

Voting is open until January 29 next year, with the winning image and four runners-up announced in February and displayed online.

A puma stands on rocks with the jagged peaks of Torres del Paine National Park, Chile, in the background — A puma stands on rocks in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (Aaron Baggenstos/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

The overall competition this year was won by Canadian marine conservation photojournalist Shane Gross with an underwater image of western toad tadpoles captured while snorkelling through Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island, British Colombia.

People can vote for their favourite image from the people’s choice shortlist here: https://bit.ly/VotePeoplesChoice2024