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This snap of a fearsome orangutan is among the winners of this year’s World Nature Photography Awards

From grizzly primates to balletic ants and snuggled-up monkeys, these are the best wildlife snaps of 2021

Sophie Dickinson
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Sophie Dickinson
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Standing in the water, grasping his staff like Gandalf, this impressive orangutan looks like he’s seen some things. And let’s face it, you really wouldn’t want to mess with him. The animal was snapped by Thomas Vijaya in Borneo, and the photograph has just been named among the winners of this year’s World Nature Photography Awards.

The competition, which saw thousands of entries from 20 countries across six continents, aims to ‘influence people to see the world from a different perspective’. Some of the entries, like a photograph of a murderous leopard seal, do just that. If you reckon you’ve got an award-winning snap you’d like to enter, next year’s competition has just opened. Here are some more of our fave shots:

Like this dramatic underwater scene

World Nature Photography Awards
Photograph: Amos Nachoum / World Nature Photography Awards

This embattled arctic fox 

World Nature Photography Awards
Photograph: Vince Burton / World Nature Photography Awards

This snug monkey family 

World Nature Photography Awards
Photograph: Tom Vierus / World Nature Photography Awards

These balletic ants

World Nature Photography Awards
Photograph: Chin Leong Teo / World Nature Photography Awards

This serene New Zealand landscape

World Nature Photography Awards
Photograph: Alain Schroeder / World Nature Photography Awards

And this humpback whale approaching New York City...

World Nature Photography Awards
Photograph: Matthijs Noome / World Nature Photography Awards

Did you see all the stunning winners of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022?

How about this majestic elephant and other winning shots at the Sony World Photography Awards?

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