See the world's most powerful wildlife photos – including a baby macaque dreaming in its mother's arms

See the world's most powerful wildlife photos – including a baby macaque dreaming in its mother's arms

This summer, the Eden Project in Cornwall is hosting 100 award-winning images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition – here are a few of our favourite photos from the exhibition.

Hikkaduwa captured the moment that a baby Toque Macaque was so relaxed after feeding that it almost fell asleep in it's Mothers arms at Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka.

Photo Credit: Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Lily Watts

Get ready to be inspired this summer as the Eden Project in Cornwall, England hosts the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, on loan from London's Natural History Museum.

Running from 24 July to 28 September 2025, the collection, which includes 100 awe-inspiring images, will be exhibited throughout the attraction’s gardens and central building.

Each photograph offers a powerful glimpse into the beauty, drama and fragility of the natural world, making this a must-visit experience for nature lovers and photography fans alike.

Below is a small snapshot of the competition's 2024 winning images, all of which will be exhibited at the Eden Project.

Igor Metelskiy - Frontier of the Lynx

Lynx stretching on the top of a hill with snowcapped mountains in the background.
Metelskiy positioned his camera trap near the footprints and droppings of potential prey. It took more than six months of waiting to achieve this stunning image of the elusive lynx. - Photo Credit: Igor Metelskiy / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Ingo Arndt - The Demolition Squad

Red wood ants swarming the body of an iridescent blue ground beetle.
In this image, Arndt documents the efficient dismemberment of a blue ground beetle by red wood ants. Red wood ants get most of their nourishment from honeydew that is secreted by aphids. To obtain protien, they are able to kill insects and other invertebrates that are larger than themselves through strength in numbers. - Photo Credit: Ingo Arndt / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Jack Zhi - Practice Makes Perfect

Falcon is mid flight with it's wings full extended, focused on catching a butterfly just above it's head.
Zhi's winning image shows a young peregrine falcon practicing its hunting skills on a butterfly, above its sea-cliff nest. The peregrine catches the insect before releasing it and repeating the behaviour. - Photo Credit: Jack Zhi / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Shane Gross - The Swarm of Life

An underwater shot showing a swarm of tadpoles swimming amongst lily pads.
Gross captures western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) tadpoles among lily pads in a lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. - Photo Credit: Shane Gross / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

John Marriott - On Watch

A lynx resting in the snow with others sheltering behind it.
Marriott had been tracking this family of lynx for almost a week in Canada’s Yukon territory, wearing snowshoes and carrying light camera gear to make his way through the landscape to get the shot. - Photo Credit: John Marriott / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Karine Aigner - Wetland Wrestle

A yellow anaconda semi-submerged in water coils itself around the snout of a yacare caiman.
Aigner captures the moment a yellow anaconda coils itself around the snout of a yacare caiman. - Photo Credit: Karine Aigner / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod - A Tranquil Moment

Close up of a baby monkey asleep lying in it's mothers arms.
Vinod captured the moment a baby toque macaque was so relaxed after feeding that it almost fell asleep in its mother's arms at Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. - Photo Credit: Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

More from the Eden Project

Wildflower Photographer of the Year

The Eden Project is marking 25 years of the National Wildflower Centre by announcing its new Wildflower Photographer of the Year competition, which invites amateurs and professionals to submit photos in celebration of wild plants.

The competition will be open for entries while the inspiring Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is on display at the Eden Project.

Enchanted Earth

Enchanted Earth is an immersive experience being held at the Eden Project. It runs from 24 July to 7 September 2025.

All Enchanted Earth activities are included with admission. General admission tickets start from £38 per adult and double up as an annual pass, granting unlimited entries to the Eden Project for 12 months. Universal and Pension Credit admission is available for £5 per adult. 

Disjointed screens in the dark showing close up images of animals.
Enchanted Earth at the Eden Project. - Photo Credit: The Eden Project

The Zoo Keepers – an animal puppetry performance by Scarlet Oak Theatre

The Scarlet Oak Theatre are running pop-up performances, each featuring their zoo keepers and alternating between orangutan, kea, blue iguana and southern white rhino puppets (pictured below).

Two women holding an iguana and rhino animal puppet on a wood and rope bridge.
Puppets and their handlers from The Zoo Keepers performance. - Photo Credit: Kathryn Nichols / The Eden Project
A monkey and parrot animal puppet sat on a ledge in the eden project.
Puppets from The Zoo That Comes To You feature in the performance. - Photo Credit: Kathryn Nichols / The Eden Project

For more information and to book tickets to the Eden Project this summer see their website. 

More amazing images of wildlife from around the world

Lily Watts

Picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife

Lily is the picture researcher across BBC Science Focus, BBC Countryfile and BBC Wildlife. She holds a degree in Photojournalism, where she specialised in social documentary reportage. Her photographic work has been shortlisted for the BarTur Photo Award’s Unity in Diversity category and exhibited internationally as part of the Urban Photo Awards. Before joining the team, she worked on freelance projects and as a product specialist for leading camera brands.

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