25 Unforgettable Wildlife Scenes from Siena’s Most Celebrated Photo Awards

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25 Unforgettable Wildlife Scenes from Siena’s Most Celebrated Photo Awards

By Chu E. - December 26, 2024

When the world’s top photographers sent their best wildlife shots to the Siena International Photo Awards, the judges had their work cut out for them. Some photographers spent years building trust with dangerous animals. Others caught split-second dramas that might never happen again. Each October, this medieval Italian city becomes a gallery of Earth’s wildest moments, and these are the best of the best for 2023. Here are all the photos that earned special recognition in SIPA’s “Animals in their Environment” category, building up to the three winners that took top honors in Siena’s ancient halls.

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Ice Family

25 Unforgettable Wildlife Scenes from Siena’s Most Celebrated Photo Awards — Source: Dmitry Kokh

A polar bear mother led three cubs across the Arctic ice, with a massive orange ship breaking through the frozen sea behind them. Dmitry Kokh’s photo tells a bigger story than just a family portrait – triplet cubs almost never survive in the wild. The smallest cub usually can’t compete with its siblings for milk and care. The mother has to work extra hard, hunting more seals to feed all her young while keeping them safe from male bears. Against the white ice and blue sky, the bears look both powerful and vulnerable.

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Above

Jens Cullmann waited at a spring in northern Zimbabwe where buffalo came to drink. When they arrived, their hooves kicked up clouds of dust that turned the air golden brown. A single red-billed oxpecker flew above the herd, standing out sharp and clear against the dust clouds below. The photo captures a scene from one of Africa’s last truly wild places, where buffalo still gather in huge numbers and tiny birds still follow in their footsteps.

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Night Explosion

Omar Alonso Bautista used both high-speed photography and continuous lighting to catch a scops owl bringing food to its chicks. The owl’s wings spread wide as it flew through the dark, a green grasshopper clutched firmly in its beak. The lighting technique turned the owl’s feathers into a bright explosion against the black night sky. The speed of the exposure froze the owl mid-flight, but the photo still carries all the energy of this nighttime hunter rushing home to its hungry chicks.

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Etosha Twister

A dust devil spun up near the waterhole where bull elephants gathered at Etosha Pan in northern Namibia. The giants stood coated in white mineral salt from the ancient dry lakebed, looking almost ghostly against the stark landscape. Jodi Frediani caught the moment when the twister reached full height, towering over even the elephants. The mix of these massive animals, the lunar-like salt pan, and the whirlwind created a scene that barely looked real.

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Table Manners

Bence Mate watched spot-billed pelicans work together to catch fish, showing hunting skills passed down through generations. The birds lined up in formation, using their massive bills to herd fish toward shallow waters where they’d be easier to catch. Each pelican knew its place in the line, moving like pieces in a well-practiced dance. Light catches their feathers and bills, turning a simple fishing expedition into something almost military in its precision.

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A Night in the Forest

Felix Heintzenberg set up a custom-made camera trap in the Swedish forest and caught this lynx in the middle of a rainy night. The big cat stretched its muscles, getting ready for the hunt, unaware of being photographed. Its eyes shone with hunger in the darkness as rain fell around it. The camera’s flash caught individual raindrops, creating a curtain of light around the predator. Only the faintest outline of trees shows in the background, focusing all attention on this solitary hunter preparing for its nightly work.

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Calmness

Mateusz Piesiak took a different approach to photographing the autumn bird gathering at Barycz Valley. Using a long exposure time, he turned the chaos of feeding birds into something that looks more like a painting than a photograph. Great egrets and black-headed gulls stopping to feed on their migration became streaks of white against the blue water. The camera smoothed their frantic movements into gentle blurs, making thousands of birds look like brushstrokes on canvas.

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place

A leopard slips past two elephants during the dry season’s water shortage. The big cats usually avoid these giants, but thirst pushed this one to try. The elephants sensed the leopard but stayed calm at the waterhole. Such peaceful meetings at water sources happen more often than most people think. The photo’s tight framing emphasizes how close these natural enemies came to each other, while the rough cliff wall behind them adds to the feeling of being trapped in this delicate moment.

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Refuge

Scott Portelli photographed Adélie penguin chicks taking shelter in ice tunnels while leopard seals patrolled the waters below. The young birds huddled together in their frozen maze, finding safety in numbers. These ice caves might look pretty, but they’re really survival shelters – the difference between life and death for these small birds. The blue light filtering through the ice turns this scene of survival into something that looks almost magical.

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Gone Fishing

A spotted genet crept toward a pond full of carp under Hannes Lochner’s watchful lens. The night hunter moved without sound, hoping to catch its next meal. The photo splits two worlds – the genet’s realm above the water and the fish swimming below, neither knowing what the next moment might bring. The autumn leaves floating on the water’s surface add a touch of color to this nocturnal drama while helping to hide the hunter’s approach.

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Stoat’s Game

Jose Grandío spent days following a single stoat in the snow before catching its unusual hunting display. The small white predator leaped into the air, twisted its body, and made strange expressions, behaviors that scientists have found can hypnotize prey animals. The photo froze one of these acrobatic jumps at its peak, capturing every detail of the stoat’s strange dance. Against the soft gray sky, the stoat’s pure white winter coat glows like a ghost suspended between heaven and earth, turning a hunting technique into visual poetry.

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Love & Revelation

Rodney Bursiel caught two young stallions in what looks like violent combat but tells a different story. Their coat colors show their youth, and what seems like fighting is actually play-fighting practice for real battles to come. These youngsters splash through shallow water, testing their strength against each other without real aggression. Water sprays around their hooves as they rear and dodge, learning the moves they’ll need as adults. The photo captures both power and playfulness in a single frame.

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Hide and Seek

Staffan Widstrand caught a moment of unintentional comedy in the African savanna. An elephant, despite its massive size, attempts to hide behind a bush that’s comically too small for concealment. The gentle giant’s futile effort at stealth creates a wonderfully humorous scene that reminds us of the playful side of these intelligent creatures. When finally discovered by park visitors, the elephant simply walked away with what one might imagine was a slightly embarrassed air.

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Reassurance

Charles Janson caught a moment of pure instinct when a young bear cub spotted an adult male during a rainstorm. The small bear ran to its mother, pressing close for safety and comfort from the looming threat. The cub’s fear and its mother’s protective stance tell a story known to every parent, human or animal. The photo holds extra power because it shows these usually powerful animals in a moment of vulnerability.

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Baby’s Entry into the World

Nitin Jain’s lens caught baby birds facing their first life-or-death choice. A hungry squirrel spotted their intricate nest and started climbing down from a tree branch toward them. The chicks had grown enough to fly but hadn’t planned to leave so soon. Their whole world balanced on the edge of that moment – stay in their nest and face the squirrel, or take their first flight-ready or not. The photo captures all the drama of this forced coming-of-age story, where nature gives no second chances to hesitant youngsters.

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Epic Grab

David Swindler broke with tradition at the falls where bears fish for salmon. Most photographers catch side views of fishing bears, following the usual path of jumping fish. This bear turned toward the camera at just the right second, giving us a head-on view of the hunt. The splash of water, the bear’s focused expression, and the perfect timing make this shot stand out from thousands of other bear fishing photos. The salmon’s fate hangs in mid-air, caught between water and tooth.

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The Judgement of Solomon

Two lions fought over a zebra foal they had just killed. They pulled at their prey, rolling in the grass and roaring throughout the savanna. Neither would give up their claim to the meal, even as the sun beat down on their battleground. The camera caught their raw strength and hunger as they fought, teeth bared and muscles straining against each other’s bulk. Shulamith Greenstein’s photo puts us right in the middle of this power struggle, where nature’s laws play out in tooth and claw.

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Tower Birds

Black-legged kittiwakes found new homes in old Alaskan radar towers that once scanned for enemy aircraft during the Cold War. These concrete sentinels now buzz with life as seabirds nest in every nook and corner of the abandoned structures. Morgan Heim’s photo shows how nature takes back what humans leave behind, turning military outposts into thriving bird colonies. The stark contrast between the towers’ original purpose and their current role tells a story of adaptation and survival. Hundreds of pairs now raise their young where soldiers once kept watch.

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Clash of the Titans

A young lion picked a fight with a buffalo, and Merche Llobera caught the whole brutal hour on camera. Both animals left with serious wounds – the lion limping from a horn gash in its leg, the buffalo bloodied but standing. The fight showed why buffalo are among Africa’s most dangerous animals, even to top predators. Neither could claim victory in this battle that left both combatants severely injured. The photo captures a moment when youth and inexperience met raw power and survival instinct, teaching a harsh lesson about life on the savanna.

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Friend or Foe?

Hannes Lochner photographed something that seemed impossible – a leopard playing with its prey like a house cat with a toy. The big cat caught a small impala but didn’t kill it right away, breaking every rule we think we know about predator behavior. Instead, it groomed and cuddled the antelope, showing an unexpected gentle side of these solitary hunters. The tender interaction lasted until the leopard finally carried its companion up a tree. The photo challenges our understanding of predator instincts and hints at complex behaviors we rarely get to see.

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My Copyright

Patrice Quillard photographed a male gelada with thick, flowing hair that marked him as the troop leader among the high peaks of Ethiopia. His piercing gaze spoke of power and control over his group, earned through years of social climbing and physical confrontations. The black and white treatment of the photo stripped away everything but the raw character of this mountain dweller, letting us focus on the intensity in his eyes and the proud set of his shoulders. The photographer caught a moment when the gelada’s full personality shone through, showing why these monkeys command respect in their harsh mountain home.

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Hippos Life

Mike Korostelev’s underwater photography demonstrates extraordinary dedication to wildlife documentation. After two years of careful observation and research of a specific hippo family, the photographer took the daring step of entering their aquatic domain. Despite these animals’ reputation for being among Africa’s most dangerous, Korostelev’s patience and understanding of their behavior allowed him to capture intimate underwater portraits that reveal a rarely seen perspective of these impressive creatures.

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Indian Wolf Pack – Third Place

Siddhartha Ghosh’s poignant documentation captures a bittersweet scene featuring the endangered Indian wolf subspecies. These remarkable animals, known for their playful nature and vocal behavior, are becoming increasingly rare across the Indian subcontinent. The photographer managed to capture their spirited interaction, showcasing their social bonds and dynamic behavior while also highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect these disappearing predators.

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Blooming Dreams – Second Place

Martin Gregus’s innovative use of drone photography reveals an unexpected and serene moment in the Arctic landscape. A large male polar bear who had meticulously created his own bed among a stunning field of purple fireweed flowers becomes the centerpiece of this remarkable composition. The contrast between the white bear and the vibrant blooms creates a painterly effect while offering rare insight into how these powerful predators find moments of rest and comfort in their harsh environment. The aerial perspective adds an extra dimension to this intimate wildlife moment.

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Lions in Lines – First Place

Torie Hilley’s masterful capture showcases the breathtaking camouflage abilities of lions during the African savanna’s dry season. As the grass turns a golden yellow, these magnificent predators become nearly invisible in their environment. The photographer’s patience and tracking skills led to this extraordinary moment, where multiple lions are perfectly aligned, their tawny coats blending seamlessly with the sun-bleached grass, creating an almost abstract pattern of predator and landscape.

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