A jaguar savaging an alligator, adorable yawning bats and a VERY human ... trends now
A jaguar seems to stare into your soul as it lands a deadly bite into a caiman. An orangutan holds onto a tree, looking a bit like Gene Kelly. A band of majestic horses kick up snow as they crest a hill.
These are just a few of the photos among the finalists and winners of the 2024 Sony World Photography Awards.
Spanning many categories of amateur and professional photographers around the world, this year's winners captured a world in motion, a world in tension.
Here's a selection of some of the top photos from the Natural World & Wildlife category in the Open Competition, as well as some of the top nature photographs from the National Competitions that recognized the best photographers from each country around the world.
This photo made the shortlist of the 'Natural World & Wildlife' category, shows horses running through thick snow in Inner Mongolia, China. The majestic animals 'decided to take a short-cut from the high ground', says Chee Kin Wong, who captured it.
If you look carefully, you can see that these bats are hanging upside down. The photo was captured by Pedro Jarque Krebs, who turned the image upside down to give these cuddling bats a decidedly relatable appearance.
Ian Ford's photo, titled Caiman Crunch, won first prize in the Natural World & Wildlife category
Ian Ford's photo, titled Caiman Crunch, won first prize in the Natural World & Wildlife category.
This picture was captured at Sao Lourenco River lodge in the Pantanal wetlands, Brazil.
'As we were leaving, we heard that a jaguar had been spotted roughly 30 minutes away,' the photographer said.
'We raced to the scene and encountered this sleek female jaguar stalking her prey... an unsuspecting caiman.'
The photo captures the last moments of life for the caiman.
Big cats like jaguars have extremely sensitive teeth that enable them to find blood vessels in their prey.
The orangutan is a member of the great ape family. The critically endangered primate lives in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra. This photo caught an orangutan swinging on a tree trunk like Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
Elephants often cover themselves in dust or mud to help protect their skin against heat and sun. This one was captured in the middle of such a dirt bath.
Orlando-based photographer Pascal Fouquet captured this SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying the X-37B spaceplane
