A wild day out at the National Museum of Scotland

On loan from the Natural History Museum in London, it will open on Saturday, January 20, featuring exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world.

Using photography's unique emotive power to engage and inspire audiences, the images shine a light on stories and species around the world and encourage a future of advocating for the planet.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases some of the best photography talent from around the world for nearly 60 years.

Launching in 1965, today the competition receives entries from 95 countries all over the world, highlighting its enduring appeal. This year’s award-winning images will embark on an international tour that will allow them to be seen by well over a million people.  

This year’s competition attracted an astounding 49,957 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 95 countries.

During an intense week at the Natural History Museum in London, entries were judged anonymously on their creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts. 

Dr Nick Fraser, Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland, said: “These images taken together tell a powerful story, balancing the wonder and beauty of the natural world with its fragility and vulnerability to climate change and biodiversity loss.

“It is perhaps less well understood how the work of in-house natural sciences teams and external researchers on collections such as ours at National Museums Scotland and those at NHM contributes hugely to global understanding of human impact on the environment, and so we look forward to welcoming visitors to the exhibition and the Museum early next year.”

Open 10am to 5pm daily until May 6, tickets are available at www.nms.ac.uk/wpy.