Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025: Winner Photographer Captured Rare Hyena in a Ghost Town

The winners of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 have been announced, celebrating extraordinary talent and dedication in wildlife photography. The top prize goes to South African photographer Wim Van Den Heever for his captivating image, Ghost Town Visitor, which captures a rare brown hyena exploring the skeletal remains of Kolmanskop, a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Namibia.

The brown hyena, considered one of the world’s rarest, is nocturnal and primarily solitary, making it a challenging subject for photographers. Van den Heever dedicated a decade to capturing this elusive animal, relying on innovative camera trap technology to finally achieve the perfect shot. The result is a hauntingly beautiful image that blends wildlife with the eerie stillness of human abandonment.

Kathy Moran, Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury, praised the photograph, saying, “How fitting that this photograph was made in a ghost town. You get a prickly feeling just looking at this image, and you know that you’re in this hyena’s realm.”

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, recognizes photographers who push the boundaries of creativity and patience in capturing the natural world. From intimate wildlife portraits to dramatic landscapes, the winners highlight the fragility, beauty, and mystery of life on Earth.