Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 – A Stunning Collection of Nature’s Grandeur

2020 was undoubtedly one of the hardest years for humankind, nevertheless, nature thrived with all its might. The past 12 months were a whirlwind of events that included horrifying wildfires, a terrible global pandemic (still ongoing), and so much social unrest; but despite the setbacks, nature gave us hope and inspiration. And through it all, photographers found a way to eloquently capture the beauty in the world. Much like a painter with a brush in his hand, photographers grabbed their cameras in 2020 and captured the best wildlife photographs from all around the world.

Most of these photographs were shortlisted in many world-famous photography competitions and some have won grand prizes as well. They not only depict the wildlife with all its beauty, but the color contrast and subjects of these pictures have epitomized the last year in a perfect manner. Here are some of the best, most brilliant, breathtaking, heartwarming, wanderlust-inducing, and undoubtedly inspiring wildlife photographs of 2020.

An in-flight blue tit from photographer Mark Harvey’s new series “In Flight” captures the graceful motion across dramatic skies.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Blue Tit by Mark Harvey

Image: Mark Harvey

Captured through macro photography that allows seeing amazing portraits of insects, damselflies, wasps, spiders, horse flies – this detailed picture of an insect is absolutely stunning.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz

Image: Pedro Luis Ajuriaguerra Saiz

The False Killer whale is a mystery to the cetacean world and very elusive. Found in the deep oceans around Tonga and many of the world’s oceans, False Killer whales belong to the toothed whale family and are rarely encountered by humans.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Scott Portelli

Image: Scott Portelli

The Pallas’s Cat, also known as the Manul, is a small wild cat native to the montane grasslands and shrublands of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Photographed in winters, this small, furry animal is giving some strong alpha vibes.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Joshua Holko

Image: Joshua Holko

Greg Lecoeur took this photo while exploring the Antarctica Peninsula and named it ‘Frozen mobile home’. The seals soaring gracefully around an iceberg are a delightful sight to behold.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Greg Lecoeur

Image: Greg Lecoeur

The photographer labeled this bird as the Salvador Dali of the avian world as its unique moustache is akin to that of the famous painter. When it comes to the length of the Peruvian Inca tern’s moustache, a longer moustache indicates a stronger immune system and therefore a more attractive proposition for courtship.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Tim Flach

Image: Tim Flach

The photographer managed to capture a stunning shot of a great white shark 12 feet in the air. He considers 2020 the best year for him as he was able to capture many gorgeous wildlife photographs.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Chris Fallows

Image: Chris Fallows

The insect world is almost invisible to the human eye. But Bulgarian photographer Jorge Georgiev has been capturing this enchanting world through his beautiful photographs. Here is a European mantis trotting toward a plant.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Georgi Georgiev

Image: Georgi Georgiev

Here is a photograph of “peeping Tom” black panther, an animal that has been the central focus of Shaaz’s work over the past four years.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Shaaz Jung

Image: Shaaz Jung

Serengeti is an absolutely immaculate ecosystem for nature lovers and wildlife photographers. This lion sitting in the wilds was captured in the National Park of the Serengeti, Tanzania.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Lion sitting in the wild by Mohamed Tazi

Image: Mohamed Tazi

‘Faded’, Zebras in the mist is probably one of the most gorgeous black and white wildlife photographs ever captured. Lenzen photographed this group of zebras while visiting Etosha National Park in Namibia.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Faded by Lenzen Anskar

Image: Lenzen Anskar

This photograph of a lone tree on an icy landscape truly represents the spirit of the year 2020 – when people were quarantined and had to live away from their loved ones, alone just like this tree.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 -Mikko Lagerstedt

Image: Mikko Lagerstedt

According to the photographer the iguanas convey “the beauty and uniqueness of nature.” He captured the vibrant lizard sitting among flowers in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - The iguana by Martin

Image: Martin

Snorkeling on the north shore of Kauai, Brandon Imbriale captured a turtle drifted through the current over the reefing, while capturing the sea life and beautiful water simultaneously.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Brandon Imbriale

Image: Brandon Imbriale

Gallo captured these three monkeys relaxing in a hot spring at Jigokudani Monkey Park in Japan. Suppose it was a much-needed break.

 “Relax” by Alan Heisen Gallo

Image: Alan Heisen Gallo

Librodo captured this family of elephants in the Surin province of Thailand. He wanted to show how the elephants have become symbols of beauty, grace, and elegance, despite their behemoth size.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - "Family" by Manny Librodo

Image: Manny Librodo

The photographer was fortunate to capture a rare glimpse into the courtship of a melanin leopard and normal leopard in the jungles of Kabini, India.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Saaya and Cleopatra by Mithun H

Image: Mithun H

Captured in Indonesia, this picture shows two animals standing in shallow water with their antlers interlocked while the sun glows low in the sky behind them.

 "Honor fight" by Jordi Sark

Image: Jordi Sark

A highland cattle standing in a misty lilac field in full bloom was photographed by Glenn Blanker in Laren, Netherlands.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Glenn Blanker

Image: Glenn Blanker

This black and white photograph was taken at the Toblacher See Lake in Italy, capturing a swan taking a flight from the water. The photographer aimed to represent light breaking through the darkness with his image.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 -"Into the darkness" by Alan Gallo

Image: Alan Gallo

This is a cross fox, which is a partially melanistic colour variant of the red fox that has a long dark stripe running down its back, intersecting another stripe to form a cross over the shoulders.

 Majestic Fox by Sam Gaby

Image: Sam Gaby

Olmos took this heartwarming picture of a koala walking with its baby on its back across a road in Australia. The year 2020 brought a very difficult time for Australian wildlife as bushfires ravaged the island continent; fortunately many species were saved.

"Motherlove" by Patricia Ortega Olmos

Image: Patricia Ortega Olmos

The ibex, a type of mountain goat, was the first one the photographer ever spotted in the wild. He managed to take a picture of the animal in Chamonix, France, as it sits magnificently on rocks.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Antoine

Image: Antoine

This photograph of three birds in flight was captured in Bangladesh by Tamzeed Alam Token, who had been trying to approach the birds very carefully as they kept flying away quickly. Luckily, he was able to take some flying shots.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - “Flying mood” by Tamzeed Alam Token

Image: Tamzeed Alam Token

The photographer captured a pair of wolves in Montreal, Canada, standing on a patch of snow in a forest.

 "Wolves" by Subhash Panikar

Image: Subhash Panikar

Aiming to capture the bond and close connection between a fawn and mother deer, the photographer took the shot at Berkeley Deer Park in England.

"Mother and her young" by Dan Rose

Image: Dan Rose

In the heartwarming photograph, the two Fairy penguins appear to be comforting each other. After the loss of their partners, the two penguins started meeting regularly, comforting each other and standing together for hours watching the flickering city lights.

Tobias Baumgaertner

Image: Tobias Baumgaertner

The photo titled “Need to drink”, represents a rare look at an orangutan risking attack from predators to grab a quick drink of water.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - 'Need to drink' by W Rahardjo

Image: W Rahardjo

The Blue Insularis is an endangered, venomous pit viper subspecies indigenous in Indonesia. In the picture, two intertwined Blue Insularis can be seen, while one of them is snacking on a frog – making it one of the best wildlife photographs of 2020.

“Blue Insularis 7,” by Chin Leong Teo

Image: Chin Leong Teo

The picture was captured just before the sunset when the photographer stumbled upon a herd of cows on a beach in Vietnam.

"Calf and mother" by Nate Pham

Image: Nate Pham

This Amur tigress hugging an ancient Manchurian fir was photographed in the Land of the Leopard National Park, as the animal rubs its cheek against bark to leave secretions from its scent glands.

The Embrace by Sergey Gorshkov

Image: Sergey Gorshkov/ Natural History Museum

Captured in the Cisarua region of West Java, Indonesia, this heartwarming photograph shows a female proboscis monkey embracing its baby.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - Image: "Mother Bekantan" by Irawan Subingar

Image: Irawan Subingar

This wild stag was photographed in Scotland. The beautiful member of the deer family are quick and light on their feet, and inhabit a long-range from tundra to the tropical rainforest.

Best Wildlife Photographs of 2020 - “Wild stag” by Jon Cleave

Image: Jon Cleave

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