National Wildlife's 2020 Photo Contest Honorable Mentions
THROUGH LUCK, PATIENCE, PRACTICE AND PASSION, the 49th annual National Wildlife® Photo Contest winners and honorable mentions reveal a world of wonder. More than 3,200 people submitted nearly 29,800 images, which we judged blind to select our favorites. The photographers featured here hail from 26 different U.S. states and territories and 17 nations. All are driven to explore the world—near their own homes or in remote corners—to capture and share its magic.
“Every photographer who enters our contest is someone we think of as a ‘Nature’s Witness,’ using their passion for the natural world to create beautiful images that can inspire conservation,” said Lisa Moore, editorial director and editor-in-chief of National Wildlife magazine. “Whether they’re alone in the dark shooting the Milky Way or quietly strolling through a neighborhood to capture the beauty of a butterfly, they witness the majesty — and fragility — of nature and the world we’re all committed to protect.” Each photographer's contribution also supports the National Wildlife Federation’s effort to protect wildlife species and their habitats — a mission that’s more important today than ever before.
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MAMMALS
Tony Hake, Thornton, CO
Brown bear, Katmai National Park and Preserve, AK -
BABY ANIMALS
William Pully, Aberdeen, MD
Piping plover mom and chicks, Sandy Hook, NJ -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Leighton Lum, Aiea, HI
Volcanic eruption, Big Island, HI -
MAMMALS
Bernhard Schubert, Neudörfl, Burgenland, Austria
European brown bear, Transylvania, Romania -
BABY ANIMALS
Yuan Minghui, Wuhan City, Hubei, China
Stink bug eggs hatching on a lotus leaf, Wuhan City, China -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Kenneth Sheide, Newport News, VA
Gold dust day gecko, Oahu, HI (Invasive) -
MAMMALS
Brittany Crossman, Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada
Red foxes, Prince Edward Island, Canada -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Joan Robins, Chico, CA
Bluet damselflies, Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, Willows, CA -
YOUTH
Addie Leimroth, Tucson, AZ
Barred tiger salamander, Willcox, AZ -
MAMMALS
Artur Stankiewicz, Zgorzelec, Dolnoslaskie, Poland
Wildebeest crossing Mara River, Serengeti, Tanzania -
BIRDS
Donna Bourdon, Ooltewah, TN
Bald eagle, Homer, AK -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Joan Brandwein, Saint Paul, MN
Long-horned bee on smooth blue asters, Saint Paul, MN -
BIRDS
Jean-Simon Bégin, Québec, Canada
Common loon, Québec, Canada -
YOUTH
Gabriel Dokus, Denville, NJ
Cabbage white butterfly on aster, Denville, NJ -
BABY ANIMALS
Rian van Schalkwyk, Windhoek, Namibia
Chacma baboons, Chobe National Park, Botswana -
MOBILE
Sonja Keppler, Lake Oswego, OR
Asian elephant, Elephant Conservation Center, Luang Prabang, Laos -
MAMMALS
Nancy McKenzie, Martin, TN
American bison, Yellowstone National Park, WY -
YOUTH
Edwin Wilke, Lake Worth, FL
Great egrets, Boynton Beach, FL -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Brady Pesola, Carlsbad, CA
Irish wolfhound with pheasant, Campo, CA -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Rick Kramer, Cottonwood Heights, UT
Cedar tree, Dead Horse State Park, Moab, UT -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Kristhian Castro, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Savage’s Cochran frog, Los Farallones de Cali National Park, Colombia -
BABY ANIMALS
Shinqing Liao, Nanchang, Jianxi, China
Terns, Shandong, China -
YOUTH
Gabriel Dokus, Denville, NJ
Ice on rose leaf, Denville, NJ -
BIRDS
Jianhui Liao, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Chinese pond-herons, Jiangxi, China -
MAMMALS
Rian van Schalkwyk, Windhoek, Namibia
Chacma baboons, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe -
MOBILE
Laura Hedien, Grayslake, IL
Low precipitation supercell clouds in a field, Nebraska -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Doron Talmi, Herzliya, Israel
Bald cypress trees in swamp, TX -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Wei Fu, Bangkok, Thailand
Ants and wasp, Bangkok, Thailand -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Mark Kelley, Juneau, AK
Black bears, Anan Creek Wildlife Observatory, Wrangell, AK -
MAMMALS
Thomas Vijayan, Ontario, Canada
Pallas’s cat, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Yuan Minghui, Wuhan City, Hubei, China
Lotus leaf in red mosquito fern, Wuhan City, Hubei, China -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Judylynn Malloch, Boynton Beach, FL
Red-eyed tree frog, Costa Rica -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Matthew Brown, Juneau, AK
Ice cave, Mendenhall Glacier, AK -
BABY ANIMALS
Rajiv Bhambri, Melbourne Beach, FL
Diamondback squid, Palm Beach, FL -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Joseph Anthony, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong, China
Lava eruption, Kilauea, HI -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Karen Morgenstern, Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
Bomber plane, Penticton, British Columbia, Canada -
YOUTH
Ankit Kumar, Singapore
African leopard, South Luangwa, Zambia -
BABY ANIMALS
J. Bonin, New London, NH
Common loon and chick, Franklin, NH -
MAMMALS
Vittorio Ricci, Genova, Liguria, Italy
Burchell's zebra, Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Indranil Banerjee, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Weaver ants, West Bengal, India -
MOBILE
Ben Caswell, Haiku, HI
Green sea turtles, Maui, HI -
BIRDS
Nicolas Reusens, Sant Cugat, Catalonia, Spain
Lesser violetear, Baeza, Ecuador -
YOUTH
Raphaelle Thomet, Newburg, MD
Rain drops on moss, Newburg, MD -
BIRDS
Wei Fu, Bangkok, Thailand
Cuckoo, Bangkok, Thailand -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Joan Brandwein, Saint Paul, MN
Milkweed beetle on swamp milkweed, Saint Paul, MN -
MOBILE
Catherine Pryor, Freeport, ME
Lotus and flower fly, Freeport, ME -
BIRDS
Fuyang Zhou, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
Zitting cisticolas, Anhui, China -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Bernhard Schubert, Neudörfl, Burgenland, Austria
Cat gecko, Kubah National Park, Borneo, Malaysia -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Susanne Weissenberger, Wasa, British Columbia, Canada
Aurora borealis, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Yuan Minghui, Wuhan City, Hubei, China
Chinese horse chestnut, Wuhan City, Hubei, China -
BABY ANIMALS
Artur Stankiewicz, Zgorzelec, Dolnoslaskie, Poland
Cheetah and cubs, Lake Ndutu, Tanzania -
BIRDS
Robert Kaplan, Roslyn Heights, NY
Bald eagle, Conowingo, MD -
MOBILE
Cassidy Manzonelli, Flagler Beach, FL
Ghost crab, Atlantic Beach, NC -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Vittorio Ricci, Genova, Liguria, Italy
European common brown frogs, Aveto Regional Natural Park, Italy -
YOUTH
William Colglazier, Austin, TX
African Elephants, Amboseli National Park, Kenya -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Cassie Lee, McKinney, TX
"Walking into the beauty of a Storm,” McKinney, TX -
YOUTH
Josiah Launstein, Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
Red Foxes, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, Canada -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Fabien Dubessy, Savigny, Rhone-Alpes, France
Mushrooms, Namur, Belgium -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Qiang Chen, Hengyang, Hunan Province, China
Bee, Hengyang, Hunan Province, China -
MOBILE
Brianna Fitch, Alexandria, VA
Green tree python, Virginia Zoo, Norfolk, VA (Captive) -
BIRDS
Jenaya Launstein, Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
Northern hawk owl in blueberry bushes, British Columbia, Canada -
MAMMALS
Douglas Croft, San Jose, CA
Humpback whales, Monterey Bay, CA -
YOUTH
Josiah Launstein, Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
American pika, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada -
MOBILE
Stephanie Young, Paducah, KY
Chinese mantis, Paducah, KY (Invasive) -
MAMMALS
Panos Laskarakis, Ioannina, Epirus, Greece
Plains zebra, Moremi, Okavango Delta, Botswana -
BIRDS
Joshua Galicki, Washington D.C.
Red-throated loon, Anchorage, AK -
MAMMALS
Taylor Thomas Albright, Yuma, AZ
Plains bison, Yellowstone National Park, WY -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Olivier Jarry-Lacombe, Mouvaux, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
Boat on Lake Lovatnet, Lodalen Valley, Norway -
YOUTH
Caleb Peterson, Battle Lake, MN
Black-capped chickadee, Battle Lake, MN -
MAMMALS
Chase Dekker, Monterey, CA
Humpback whale and sea lion, Monterey Bay, CA -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Jake Mosher, Bozeman, MT
Bear Basin, Spanish Peaks mountain range, MT -
MAMMALS
Deborah Roy, Charlotte, NC
Bobcat, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, SC -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Lalith Ekanayake, Kotte, Western Province, Sri Lanka
Common albatross butterflies, Yala National Park, Sri Lanka -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Bernhard Schubert, Neudörfl, Burgenland, Austria
Climber and rainbow, Rio Cadramazzo, Udine, Italy -
YOUTH
Edwin Wilke, Lake Worth, FL
Great Egret, Wellington, FL -
MAMMALS
Carla Rhodes, Mount Tremper, NY
Galapagos sea lion, Punta Espinoza, Galapagos, Ecuador -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Songda Cai, Manila, Philippines
Juvenile African pompano, Anilao, Batangas, Philippines -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Laszlo Maraczi, Etyek, Fejér megye, Hungary
Ice cave, Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia -
YOUTH
Jadyn Scott, Murfreesboro, TN
Tricolored heron, Sarasota, FL -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Carol Forward, Clio, CA
Valley garter snake, Sierra Valley, CA -
MAMMALS
Weidong Zhong, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
African elephants, Kenya -
LANDSCAPES & PLANTS
Yuan Minghui, Wuhan City, Hubei, China
Black bean pod, Wuhan City, Hubei, China -
MAMMALS
Rian van Schalkwyk, Windhoek, Namibia
Waterbuck, Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia -
BIRDS
Mary Lou Shapinas, Johnson City, NY
Snow geese, Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, PA -
BABY ANIMALS
Ignacio Carrera, Glen Burnie, MD
Vervet monkeys, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana -
MOBILE
Michele Linton, Naugatuck, CT
Brown pelican diving, Aruba -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Xuanming Liang, Guangzhou City, Guangdong, China
Fruit flies, Shenzen, Guangzhou, China -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Cassie Lee, McKinney, TX
“Field of Sunflowers,” Frisco, TX -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Joni Cook, Point Pleasant, NJ
Julia butterfly, Clearwater, FL -
MOBILE
Frank Bowman, Greensboro, NC
Rainbow, Onslow County, NC -
YOUTH
William Colglazier, Austin, TX
Red lechwe antelope, Okavango Delta, Botswana -
MAMMALS
Pam Dorner, Rio Rancho, NM
Brown bear, Katmai, AK -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Yuan Minghui, Wuhan City, Hubei, China
Deer moths, Wuhan City, Hubei, China -
PEOPLE IN NATURE
Charleen Baugh, Houston, TX
Aurora borealis, Iceland -
MOBILE
Deb Petersen, Delafield, WI
White-tailed deer fawn, Delafield, WI -
OTHER WILDLIFE
Rick Starr, La Selva, CA
Humphead wrasse, Palau -
YOUTH
Jack Currie, Poughkeepsie, NY
Bald eagle, Conowingo Dam, MD -
BABY ANIMALS
Taylor Thomas Albright, Yuma, AZ
Brown bear mother and cub, King Salmon, AK
