A ball of buzzy cactus bees has stung away the competition after being snapped by a U.S. photographer who claimed the grand title winner in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition 2022.

Karine Aigner/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Photographer Karine Aigner — only the fifth woman to win the top award from London’s Natural History Museum in 58 years — got up close to the action in Texas in May as the group of bees clambered and competed in a scrum to mate with the only female on the hot sand.

Karine Aigner/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Fernando Constantino Martínez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Other winners include the image of a Yucatán rat snake snapping up a bat in its fangs.

Fernando Constantino Martínez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Using a red light to which both bats and snakes are less sensitive, photographer Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar waited in the dark in Quintana Roo, Mexico, for the rat snake to peep out of its crevice, capturing the shot in a matter of seconds.

Fernando Constantino Martínez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner of the underwater category photographer Tony Wu captured the electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star in Japan.

Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The water is filled with sperm and eggs, which fertilize together in the water, creating a “galaxy-like scene” as the creature sways.

Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A teenage photographer from Thailand won the prize for Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022 for his image of a Bryde’s whale surfacing close to a boat.

Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, 16, captured the contrasting colors of the animal’s “dark skin, pink gum and the brush-like mass of baleen hanging down from its top jaw.”

Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Junji Takasago/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Photographer Junji Takasago created a “dreamlike scene,” capturing a group of Chilean flamingos in Bolivia to win the natural artistry award.

Junji Takasago/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The water reflects the clouds in a glassy image that saw the photographer brave his altitude sickness to capture the image, high in the Andes.

Junji Takasago/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Fluffy white polar bears hang around a deserted settlement in Russia, shrouded by fog.

Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Photographer Dmitry Kokh presented the “haunting scene” after spotting the bears while seeking shelter from a storm.

Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Brent Stirton/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Photographer Brent Stirton memorialized the death of an endearing mountain gorilla named Ndakasi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The animal lay dying in the arms of her rescuer and keeper for 13 years, ranger Andre Bauma, in this moving shot.

Brent Stirton/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Anand Nambiar/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

A hard to spot snow leopard is seen charging at a herd of Himalayan ibex on a steep edge, in this image taken by Anand Nambiar in India. Climate change is impacting both snow leopards and their prey, warns the Natural History Museum.

Anand Nambiar/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Richard Robinson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Photographer Richard Robinson captured a “moment of copulation crystallised in time” as two whales mate in the dark ocean near New Zealand. Battling poor visibility, Robinson used a polecam to take the shot capturing a moment of hope for a dwindling population.

Richard Robinson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Ekaterina Bee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Amid a scenic backdrop, two seemingly small Alpine ibex stand on their hind legs and spar for supremacy.

Ekaterina Bee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Young photographer Ekaterina Bee won for the award for children aged 10 and under, after she watched the two clash horns and trade blows high in the Italian mountains.

Ekaterina Bee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

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Credits

Photo editing and production by Morgan Coates, text by Adela Suliman

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