The World Nature Photography Awards 2022 have attracted entries from 45 countries, leaving no corner of the globe unexplored in the pursuit of capturing the different aspects of nature. Jens Cullmann won the grand prize for his photograph of a crocodile lurking in the mud in Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park. Other winning images include Japanese macaques huddled together for warmth on Awaji Island, a spectacular shot of the elusive snow leopard ambling in the Indian Himalayas, and the Milky Way over Grand Teton Peak in Wyoming.
Scroll down to see the stunning competition winners.
Related: 15 Remarkable Winners of World Nature Photography Awards 2020
1. “Danger in the Mud” by Jens Cullmann (Germany). Grand Prize Winner, World Nature Photographer of the Year, and Gold, Animal Portraits.
A crocodile's head is barely visible in a mud pool in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe.
2. “Playgroup” by Hidetoshi Ogata (Japan). Gold, Behavior – Mammals.
Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) huddle together for warmth during winter on Awaji Island, Japan.
3. “Harlequin Shrimps” by Adriano Morettin (Italy). Gold, Underwater.
Harlequin shrimps (Hymenocera picta) pictured with the snoot on the blue seastar, Linkia laevigata, in Indonesia's Lembeh Strait.
4. “The World is Mine” by Sascha Fonseca (UAE). Gold, Animals in their Habitat.
A snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in the Indian Himalayas.
5. “The Guts” by Virgil Reglioni (Norway). Gold, People, and Nature.
Inside a glacier at Solheimajokull, South Iceland.
6. “The Home of the Kestrel” by Vladislav Tasev (UK). Gold, Urban Wildlife.
A Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) has made a dilapidated lampost its home in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria.
7. “Thankfulness” by Alain Ernoult (France). Gold, Black, and White.
A Lesser Antillean iguana (Iguana delicatissima) strikes a pose on Grenada Island, West Indies.
8. “The Grand Tetons” by Jake Mosher (USA). Gold, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments.
The Milky Way was photographed over Grand Teton Peak in Wyoming, US.
9. “Ride on You” by Norihiro Ikuma (Japan). Gold, Behavior – Amphibians and Reptiles.
A Japanese stream toad (Bufo torrenticola), also known as the Honshū toad, in the Owase Mountains in Mie, Japan. This toad only comes down from the mountains to the river when it is time to spawn.
10. “Fungus Horizon” by Mr. Endy (Singapore). Silver, Plants, and fungi.
Crepidotus fungus in Windsor Nature Park, Singapore.
11. “I'm Coming for You” by Charles Schmidt (USA). Gold, Behavior – Birds.
A male hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) takes flight in Huntley Meadows Park, US.
12. “Connection” by Tamas Aranyossy (Hungary). Silver, Behavior – Birds.
A red-billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorynchus) rests on a warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) in Zimanga, South Africa.
13. “Underwater Colorful Snowstorm” by Tom Shlesinger (Israel). Gold, Nature Art.
Spawning coral in the Red Sea.
14. “Parallel Universe” by Beatrice Wong (Hong Kong). Silver, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments.
Laguna Colorada, otherwise known as the 'Red Lagoon,' is a shallow salt lake dotted with white borax islands. Flamingos are drawn to the lake due to the abundance of plankton found here.
15. “Catch Me If You Can” by Thomas Vijayan (Canada). Silver, Animals in their Habitat.
A leopard (Panthera pardus) climbs a tree in Kenya.
