Wildlife Photographer Shane Gross Captures Toad Tadpoles in Award-Winning Image

Shane Gross has been awarded the prestigious title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, as reported by the BBC. His winning photograph features a mesmerizing snapshot of wriggling toad tadpoles beneath the lily pads of Cedar Lake, Canada. Gross’s approach was meticulous as he carefully maneuvered through the lake’s silt and algae to capture the image. Speaking to BBC News, Gross expressed his passion by stating, “To me, the most fun that I can have, the thing that lights me up inside, is to see something new and try to photograph it in the best way I possibly can.”

The award was given at London’s Natural History Museum, where Jury Chair Kathy Moran praised the image, noting its “light, energy and a feeling of synchronized movement between the lilies and the tadpole tails.” She emphasized that the image highlights often overlooked environments and species.

The competition also recognized Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas from Germany, aged 17, who received the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. His work, entitled “Life Under Dead Wood,” showcased fruiting slime mold with an active springtail, emphasizing the often unnoticed micro-world around us. Speaking on his work, Tinker-Tsavalas remarked, “If people learn more through my images, I feel like that’s one of the biggest goals for me, to just show this tiny world that a lot of people don’t really get to see, in a different light.”

Additional notable entries included “Dusting for New Evidence” by Britta Jaschinski, capturing a fingerprinting process on a confiscated tusk at Heathrow Airport, and “Under the Waterline” by Matthew Smith, featuring a leopard seal beneath Antarctic ice. Meanwhile, Thomas Peschak’s “Dolphins of the Forest” highlighted the adaptation of Amazon River dolphins to flooded forests, alongside their challenging interaction with human habitats.

Photographers from various backgrounds participated, showcasing the global diversity of wildlife. Jack Zhi‘s “Practice Makes Perfect” captured a young falcon’s hunting trials, while Karine Aigner’s “Wetland Wrestle” illustrated an intense scene between a yellow anaconda and a yacaré caiman.

The ongoing exhibition, celebrating these and other magnificent wildlife images, opens at the Natural History Museum on Friday, marking another year of exploration and appreciation of the natural world.