See the Photos That Won the 2022 World Nature Photography Awards Contest

The grand prize winner received a cash prize

The World Nature Photography Awards announced the winning photographs from its 2022 photo competition.

The contest aims to use the power of photography to put a spotlight on the wonder of the natural world, reminding viewers to take action now to protect the planet and secure a better tomorrow.

The contest, which opened to U.S. residents last year, invited readers to submit a digital photograph in over a dozen categories, such as animals, plants and fungi and people and nature. The grand prize winner receives a cash prize of $1,000. Here are all the gold medal winners by category:

Animal Portraits

Winner of World Nature Photographer of the Year

Crocodile

A crocodile in the mud at Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. (Jens Cullmann)

Behaviour - Mammals

Baboons

Japanese macaques in Awaji Island, Japan. (Hidetoshi Ogata)

Behaviour - Amphibians and reptiles

Toads

Japanese stream toads in the Owase Mountains, Mie, Japan. (Norihiro Ikuma)

Behaviour - Birds

Bird

A male Hooded Merganser in Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia. (Charles Schmidt)

Behaviour - Invertebrates

Red crab

A red crab (Grapsus adscensionis) in La Gomera Island, Spain (Javier Herranz Casellas)

Nature Art

Spawning coral.

Spawning coral in the Red Sea. (Tom Shlesinger)

People and Nature

Inside of a glacier.

The view from inside a glacier looking up at the night sky in Solheimajokull, South Iceland. (Virgil Reglioni)

Plants and Fungi

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus in Mount Barker, Western Australia (Julie Kenny)

Urban Wildlife

Common kestrel

Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. (Vladislav Tasev)

Planet Earth's Landscapes and Environments

Grand Teton Peak

Grand Teton Peak in Wyoming, USA (Jake Mosher)

Black and White

Iguana

Lesser Antillean Iguana in Grenada Island, West Indies. (Alain Ernoult)

Animals in their Habitat

Snow leopard

A snow leopard in the Indian Himalayas. (Sascha Fonseca)

Nature Photojournalism

Australian fur seal

Australian fur seal in Port Kembla, NSW, Australia. (Nicolas Remy)

Underwater

Australian fur seal

Harlequin shrimps in the Hymanocera Lembeh strait, Indonesia. (Adriano Morettin)

To see the full gallery of winners, visit the World Nature Photography Awards website.

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