The National History Museum unveiled the Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners in October 2024, and today, they are announcing the last but much-awaited winner of another popular category, the People’s Choice Award. The category is open to the public, where they cast votes for their favorite images. This year, the category had 25 nominated images for the People’s Choice Award, each receiving thousands of votes from viewers. However, only one was able to beat the rest. Here is a look at the winner and the highly commended in this section.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2024
No Access by Ian Wood (UK)
An ambling Eurasian badger, illuminated by a streetlight, appears to glance up at badger graffiti on a quiet road in England, UK. Residents of St Leonards-on-Sea had been leaving food scraps on the pavement for foxes, but Ian noticed that badgers from a nearby sett were also coming to forage. After seeing a badger walking along the pavement by this wall late one night, he decided to photograph it. He set up a small hide on the edge of the road to take this picture.
Highly Commended
Earth and Sky by Francisco Negroni (Chile)
A double lenticular cloud is illuminated at nightfall by the lava emitted from the Villarrica volcano, Chile. Villarica is in the town of Pucón in the south of Chile. It’s one of the country’s most active volcanoes, and last erupted in 2015. Francisco takes regular trips to Villarrica to monitor its activity. On this visit, he stayed nearby for 10 nights. He says every trip is “quite an adventure – never knowing what the volcano might surprise you with”. Some nights are calm, others furious, as in this photograph, where the brightness of the crater illuminates the night sky.
Edge of Night by Jess Findlay (Canada)
A ghostly barn owl exits the hayloft window of a derelict barn to hunt in fields outside Vancouver, Canada. Jess quietly watched the owl for several nights to understand its habits. He set up an invisible beam that would trigger a flash when the owl flew out of the barn. Simultaneously, a slow shutter speed gathered ambient light cast on the clouds and barn. On the tenth night, all the moving parts came together as the owl left to begin its hunt.
Whiteout by Michel d’Oultremont (Belgium)
A stoat sits up and observes its territory as it blends perfectly into a snowy landscape in Belgium. Michel had been looking for stoats in the snow for many years. The magic of snowfall fascinates Michel every winter. He wanted to take a photograph that showed how the stoats blend in with the whiteness of the landscape. He’d seen a few in Switzerland but never in his native Belgium. Then, finally, his dream came true. He lay in the snow with a white camouflage net covering all but his lens. This curious stoat came out of its snowy hole and sat up from time to time, observing its territory just before setting off to hunt.
Spiked by David Northall (UK)
A bloodied yet determined honey badger returns to finish off a Cape porcupine, which had tried to defend itself earlier. Found throughout Botswana, honey badgers are famously ferocious. They often chase animals, many times their own size. This honey badger got an unpleasant surprise when it attacked the normally nocturnal Cape porcupine. The badger grabbed the porcupine’s right leg. In defense, the porcupine repeatedly backed into its attacker, piercing it with many quills. During a lull in the attack, the porcupine managed to shuffle away, its leg badly damaged. After a short retreat, the bloodied badger returned. It finished off the porcupine under a bush close to the original attack, then dragged it into its underground den.
For more information about the People’s Choice Award or about the next edition of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, head here.