The best wildlife photos taken this year reveal a pair of puffins, fighting foxes, and a perfectly camouflaged hippo

Aylin WoodwardSep 24, 2020, 18:23 IST

A red-shanked douc langur languishes in a treetop in Vietnam's Son Tra Nature Reserve.Arshdeep Singh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The London Natural History Museum's annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition celebrates photographers who highlight the fragility of wildlife on our planet.
This year, the contest received more than 49,000 entries from photographers in 25 countries.
The front-runners' images show the burning Amazon, endangered langur monkeys, and a camouflaged hippopotamus.

When Arshdeep Singh's father announced he was traveling to Vietnam for business, the 13-year-old begged to come along.

His goal: photograph the endangered red-shanked douc langur, a monkey found only in the coastal rainforests of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

For two days, Singh sat waiting in the Son Tra Nature Reserve, peering towards the treetops. At last, a male douc appeared in the canopy. Singh caught the monkey's furtive glance on camera.

His breathtaking photograph joins others as a top pick in the 2020 Wildlife Photography of the Year competition, which is organized by the Natural History Museum in London. The frontrunners were chosen from among 49,000 entries, and many throw into sharp relief the resilience of species forced to contend with a warming planet and increasing human interference.

The photographers who submitted their work hail from 25 countries; some braved fires in the Amazon, spied on crocodiles in India, and tracked puffins in the North Sea in order to get their shots.

Below are 13 "highly commended" front-runners in this year's contest. The winners will be announced October 13.

Several of the contest's front runners showcase predators with newly acquired meals.

A young fox holds a dead brown rat as her brother attempts to take it in northern London, England. Matthew Maran/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Brown bears in Alaska go for live prey. According to photographer Hannah Vijayan, the bear shown here stuck her head under the water to snap up a salmon.

A brown bear pulls a salmon from the shallows of a river in Alaska's Katmai National Park. Hannah Vijayan/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

But sometimes, predators let their prey get away. In this photograph, two Ural owls watch a tasty morsel flee, deciding not to pursue it.

A red squirrel bounds away from a pair of Ural owls in a forest of Hokkaido, Japan. Makoto Ando/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Like Ural owls, possums are mostly nocturnal. These two hid under a shower block until nightfall, when campers turned in for the night at a park in Yallingup, Australia.

Two common brushtail possums under the roof of a shower block in a park in Yallingup, Australia. Gary Meredith/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Like Ural owls, possums are mostly nocturnal. These two hid under a shower block until nightfall, when campers turned in for the night at a park in Yallingup, Australia.

Other creatures don't mind eating in front of the camera. This wandering spider scuttled for miles to find these glass frog eggs, then ate them one by one as photographer Jaime Culebras watched.

A large wandering spider in Manduriacu Reserve, northwestern Ecuador. Jaime Culebras/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Other creatures don't mind eating in front of the camera. This wandering spider scuttled for miles to find these glass frog eggs, then ate them one by one as photographer Jaime Culebras watched.

Puffins, meanwhile, prefer to eat sand eels.

A pair of puffins in the Farne Islands near Northumberland, UK. Evie Easterbrook/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

But not all animals want to be colorful. This African hippo used its monochromatic skin to camouflage itself to great effect.

A hippopotamus in the Mara River in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve. Jose Fragoso/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Drought isn't the only threat to aquatic species — hunting is a problem, too. Gharials, fish-eating crocodiles from India, are critically endangered.

A large male gharial supports his numerous offspring in the National Chambal Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, India. Dhiritiman Mukherjee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Humans have also contributed to the decline of topshells in the Pacific. The mollusks are prized for their 6-inch-wide mother-of-pearl shells, which can be used to make buttons or jewelry.

Mollusks and a gray reef shark on remote coral in Fakarava Atoll, French Polynesia. Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Humans have also contributed to the decline of topshells in the Pacific. The mollusks are prized for their 6-inch-wide mother-of-pearl shells, which can be used to make buttons or jewelry.

This picture, while troubling, represents another conservation success story, according to photographer Thomas Peschak.

A collection of dead seabirds accidentally caught by Japanese tuna-fishing boats off South Africa's coast in 2017. Thomas P Peschak/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Humans' hunger for meat and fish is especially evident at wildlife markets.

A market trader slicing up fruit bats in Tomohon Market in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Quentin Martinez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Meat consumption aside, humans can consume entire landscapes, too.

Mildred Lake Tar Mine in the Alberta Tar Sands, Canada. Garth Lenz/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Humans destroy forests by burning them, too. This photo shows a portion of the Brazilian Amazon that's being destroyed in a deliberately set blaze.

A fire burns in the Amazon rainforest of Maranhão state, Brazil. Charlie Hamilton James/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Archaeologists unearthed 27 sarcophagi in an ancient Egyptian city of the dead. They've been sealed for more than 2,500 years.

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The best wildlife photos taken this year reveal a pair of puffins, fighting foxes, and a perfectly camouflaged hippo

Several of the contest's front runners showcase predators with newly acquired meals.

Brown bears in Alaska go for live prey. According to photographer Hannah Vijayan, the bear shown here stuck her head under the water to snap up a salmon.

But sometimes, predators let their prey get away. In this photograph, two Ural owls watch a tasty morsel flee, deciding not to pursue it.

Like Ural owls, possums are mostly nocturnal. These two hid under a shower block until nightfall, when campers turned in for the night at a park in Yallingup, Australia.

Other creatures don't mind eating in front of the camera. This wandering spider scuttled for miles to find these glass frog eggs, then ate them one by one as photographer Jaime Culebras watched.

Puffins, meanwhile, prefer to eat sand eels.

But not all animals want to be colorful. This African hippo used its monochromatic skin to camouflage itself to great effect.

Drought isn't the only threat to aquatic species — hunting is a problem, too. Gharials, fish-eating crocodiles from India, are critically endangered.

Humans have also contributed to the decline of topshells in the Pacific. The mollusks are prized for their 6-inch-wide mother-of-pearl shells, which can be used to make buttons or jewelry.

This picture, while troubling, represents another conservation success story, according to photographer Thomas Peschak.

Humans' hunger for meat and fish is especially evident at wildlife markets.

Meat consumption aside, humans can consume entire landscapes, too.

Humans destroy forests by burning them, too. This photo shows a portion of the Brazilian Amazon that's being destroyed in a deliberately set blaze.