20 Mesmerising Nature Photos That Won The 2021 World Nature Photography Awards

Being a nature photographer takes both skill and guts– Imagine being so close to the wild animals and harsh landscapes! On top of that, wildlife photographers hardly ever get a second chance! The winning list of annual World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) have just been announced for the year 2021 winners, and all the pictures are breathtakingly beautiful. Amos Nachoum from the US won the grand prize of $1000 for his amazing shot of a leopard seal about to attack a penguin. Scroll below to see more such stunning pictures that made it to the winning list of the competition. More info: worldnaturephotographyawards.com

#1 Behaviour Mammals, Gold Winner And Grand Prize: Amos Nachoum, USA

Image source: worldnaturephotographyawards "For hours, I waited for the low tide to arrive along a shallow lagoon on a remote island off the Antarctic Peninsula. Like clockwork, the leopard seal arrived in the lagoon just before low tide. It put its head in the water and looked just like a rock sitting in the receding water. The young Gentoo penguins only dare to enter the water when it is shallow and when they got close enough to the seal, it turned its head at lightning speed, catching one of the penguins by its feet and taking it to deep water. Once the seal reached open water, I followed it and swam parallel to it, observing its actions. To my surprise, it let go of the penguin twice. Each time, the seal chased after the penguin again, as if it was enjoying the game. The terrified penguin tried to escape as the game continued. But soon, the end came. "

#2 Animals In Their Habitat, Gold: Thomas Vijayan, Canada

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#3 Behaviour Amphibians And Reptiles, Gold: Shayne Kaye, Canada

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#4 Behaviour Invertebrates, Gold: Chin Leong Teo, Singapore

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#5 Animal Portraits, Gold: Tom Vierus, Fiji

Image source: worldnaturephotographyawards "Long-tailed macaques enjoy the warmth of each other during a hot day in Bali, Indonesia. These animals show very similar behaviour to us humans including enjoying each other trusting company. The macaques are used to humans and are commonly found around temples where they tend to feed on food sacrifices by the locals."

#6 Nature Art, Gold: Federico Testi, Italy

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#7 Behaviour Birds, Gold: Ashok Behera, India

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#8 People And Nature, Gold: Sabrina Inderbitzi, Switzerland

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#9 Nature Photojournalism, Gold: Alain Schroeder, Belgium

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#10 Urban Wildlife, Gold: Matthijs Noome, USA

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#11 Planet Earth's Landscape And Environments, Gold: Sam Wilson, Australia

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#12 Black And White, Gold: Vince Burton, UK

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#13 Behaviour Amphibians And Reptiles, Silver: Massimo Giorgetta, Italy

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#14 Urban Wildlife, Silver: Mohammad Murad, Kuwait

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#15 Animal Portraits, Silver: Neelutpaul Barua, India

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#16 Black And White, Silver: Avanka Fernando, Sri Lanka

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#17 Behaviour Mammals, Silver: William Fortescue, UK

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#18 Animal Portraits, Bronze: Amit Eshel, Israel

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#19 Behaviour Mammals, Bronze: Buddhilini De Soyza, Australia

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#20 Planet Earth's Landscape And Environments, Bronze: Rie Asada, Japan

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