Tadpoles wins top prize for Wildlife Photograph Of The Year

A marine conservation photojournalist's "magical" image that shed light on the undersea environment of a tadpole species has earned him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Shane Gross of Canada captured the western toad tadpoles while snorkeling through lily pads in Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

He was able to photograph a cloud of amphibians, who are a near-threatened species due to habitat destruction and predators while avoiding the visibility-reducing layers of silt and algae on the bottom.

The shot, titled The Swarm Of Life, has won the Natural History Museum's renowned Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2024 competition, beating out 59,228 entrants from 117 nations and territories.

The jury chair, Kathy Moran, stated that they were "captivated by the mix of light, energy, and connectivity between the environment and the tadpoles".

This is the first time the species has appeared in the competition, which is currently in its 60th year, she explained.

Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas of Germany won the title of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for an up-close photograph of slime mold on the right and a macroscopic species called a springtail on the left, captured in Berlin.

Tinker-Tsavalas employed a technique known as focus stacking, which involves mixing 36 photos with distinct areas of focus.

Judges praised it for its "incredible attention to detail, patience, and perseverance".