Wildlife photography shows us just how fascinating the natural world can be. Whether it captures animals in their natural habitats or the incredible life hidden beneath the ocean's surface, these images showcase moments we might never witness ourselves.

The Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) celebrates photographers from around the world, and its 2026 competition includes some truly powerful shots of wildlife and underwater life. We've selected some of our favorites, featuring animals in their environments and the beauty of the world beneath the waves.

Scroll down to explore these captivating wildlife photos, and tell us which ones caught your attention the most!

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#1 Baby On Board By Douglas Gimesy

A Grey-headed Flying-fox mother flies with her pup between trees at a Melbourne colony. Pups typically cling to their mothers until they become too heavy to carry; they are then left with other pups in 'nursery' trees, where they wait for their mothers to return at dawn.

#2 Power Play By Kevin Shi

A moment of intense tension as a female puma attempts to capture a guanaco. For days, Kevin had been following the predator, a mother of two cubs who depended on her for food. At dawn, after observing the guanaco for a long time, the puma cautiously approaches and launches her attack, repeatedly trying to pull it down and bite into its neck to suffocate it. Despite the intensity of the struggle, the guanaco ultimately manages to escape.

#3 Highlands By Marco Gaiotti

A gelada (Theropithecus gelada) perches on a rock in the Ethiopian highlands at sunset. Endemic to Ethiopia, this primate—also known as the 'bleeding-heart baboon' for the distinctive reddish patch on the chest of males, a sign of health and dominance—is the only primate in the world that feeds almost exclusively on grass, which it selects with agile, precise fingers. It spends the nights clinging to rocky ledges along steep escarpments, where the altitude and steep walls protect it from predators. In the background, amid threatening clouds, the jagged peaks of the Simien Mountains rise, a volcanic massif in northern Ethiopia with deep gorges and spectacular basalt cliffs. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they host the world’s largest concentration of geladas and other endemic species in a high-altitude ecosystem often above 3,000 meters.

#4 Sleeping Beauty By Felix Belloin

From a ship deep within the Arctic pack ice north of Svalbard, in the summer of 2025, a tuft of fur emerging from a distant ice wall catches Felix’s attention. In this remote polar environment, where sea ice thins each summer due to rising temperatures, encounters with wildlife are increasingly rare and unpredictable. Driven by curiosity, he launches his drone and approached slowly. As the distance narrowed, the scene gradually revealed itself: a polar bear (Ursus maritimus, an apex predator dependent on sea ice for hunting seals) in a deep sleep, its body curled within a crack beside an extraordinary formation of glacial ice of an intense and almost unreal shade of blue. Felix keeps the drone high, careful not to break the spell of the moment or disturb the bear’s peaceful rest. Then, with the same gentleness with which he had arrived, he withdrew, leaving the bear to its dreams, alone in the frozen realm it calls home.

#5 The East Legacy By Estebane Rezkallah

Two young bears are following in their mother’s footsteps and learning her skills: they are ready to adapt to this extreme environment. Beyond a striking composition, this scene reveals an authentic maternal bond being passed on.

#6 Gannets Of The Bass Rock By Sandy Gilmour

A scene of raw power and competition: northern gannets (Morus bassanus) engage in a fast and frenzied hunt for food, tracking shoals of fish from above before plunging into the sea like living missiles at impressive speeds. Their hydrodynamic bodies are equipped with specialized air sacs that protect them from the violent impact with the water. In this feeding frenzy, the birds move together intensely, taking advantage of the abundance of food and competing to grab it first. In the background, the iconic Bass Rock appears, a spectacular rocky island in the North Sea, renowned for its extraordinary birdlife and home to the largest colony of northern gannets in the world.

#7 Fatal Jump By Bence Maté

By a small garden pond in Kiskunság National Park, swallows drink on the wing, their beaks barely skimming the water's surface. In a moment of perfect timing, a marsh frog leaps into the air just as a swallow streaks past.

#8 Surrounded By Bence Maté

At a small pond in Tsavo East National Park, Bence was watching mammals gather to drink when thousands of red-billed queleas suddenly filled the sky. In the golden light, a fleeting moment aligned birds and elephants—a rare blend of scale, motion, and magic.

#9 Frog Bounce And Catch Game By Amit Eshel

An Ethiopian wolf pup, the rarest canid in the world, plays with a frog, tossing it in the air as if it were hopping. This play is crucial for the pups’ development, enhancing coordination, hunting skills, and pack communication during the transition from a milk-based to a meat-based diet.

#10 Autumn At Caddo Lake By Emanuel Sensi

The magic of autumn colors enhances the already stunning scenery of Caddo Lake’s swamps, home to countless bird species. Amid the reflective waters, a white heron, hunting from a high perch, stands out for its brightness, contrasting sharply with the surrounding landscape.

#11 Marco Polo By Shaun Downey

The relationship between the coastal brown bear and the Sockeye salmon is revealed from an unusual perspective. Both rely on their senses to survive, driven by opposing needs: the bear senses the salmon nearby but cannot pinpoint their exact location to strike.

#12 Scent Rolling By Amit Eshel

Arctic wolf scent rolling is a complex behaviour in which wolves rub their bodies and heads against objects bearing strong odours. This behaviour is thought to serve several functions, including communication within the pack, camouflage by masking their own scent, and sensory exploration of the environment. A primary theory suggests that wolves bring these scents back to the pack to share information.

#13 Forest Walker By Charlie Wemyss-Dunn

A bull elephant wanders through the iconic Albida forest of Mana Pools as the dusk light reflects off the dry-season dust. This pachyderm searches for the nutritious pods of these trees, which flower at this time of year, providing a valuable food source when resources are scarce.

#14 Safe Platform By Rajarshi Banerji

A mature male bull gharial, recognisable by the distinctive bulbous ghara, or knob, on the tip of his elongated snout, provides comfort and protection to a swarm of newborn hatchlings gathered on and around his formidable body. In moments of danger or distress, gharial juveniles instinctively seek refuge on their father’s massive head, clambering over his jaws and resting between the ridges of his snout. This remarkable behaviour, both tender and striking, creates a truly spectacular family scene, highlighting an unusual display of parental care in these ancient reptiles.

#15 Grazing On The Roof Of Africa By Amit Eshel

A male gelada, his fur still dark and heavy from a recent rain, calmly eats grass while keeping an eye on two playful infants on the edge of a cliff. Geladas are unique primates that thrive exclusively in Ethiopia—they are the only species of monkey whose diet consists primarily of grass.

#16 A Tranquil Moment By Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod

During a safari in Wilpattu National Park, some toque macaques were moving gracefully from tree to tree. Among them, a newborn clung to its mother—nursing and slowly drifting to sleep. This tender moment was quietly captured without disturbing them.

#17 The Dust Devil Appears By Rahul Sachdev

A dust devil sweeps past a Masai giraffe on a dramatic, stormy afternoon in Amboseli National Park. It is not every day that one gets to see dust devils with an animal in the frame.

#18 Little Hare In Dew Sparkles By Smolik Pawel

An unexpected shot of a little hare, captured in the early morning light—a rare three-second encounter across a dewy landscape.

#19 An Elephant's World By Rahul Sachdev

Elephants dot the landscape of the marsh area in the Masai Mara, and seeing them blend in with the forest is a truly humbling experience. A sense of calm fills the entire forest when these gentle giants peacefully wander by.

#20 Family Provisions By Isabel Guerra Clark

During a cloudy day, a family of Crested Caracaras was seen nesting in a Saguaro in the Sonoran Desert. The parents were bringing food and protecting the nest.

#21 Born Of Ice By Sunita Mandal

A polar bear mother shelters her two young cubs at the mouth of a wind-carved snow den. In their first weeks outside the safety of their shelter, the three press together into a brief pocket of warmth—life beginning in a season that will soon bring thinning ice and warmer days.

#22 Wunderpus Octopus By Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya

A Wunderpus octopus larva drifts through the darkness of the open ocean, reminding us that no life is insignificant—even the smallest existence is essential and beautiful when truly seen.

#23 Shark Portal By Linda Ness

During the annual Sardine Run off the Transkei Coast of South Africa, Linda spent three days freediving amidst massive shoals of sardines trapped against a headland. She descended into an almost surreal underwater world—a parallel universe where sharks swirled, appearing and disappearing into the blue. Among them, a massive dusky shark, an apex predator, moved effortlessly within the bait ball during this extraordinary migratory spectacle. In that presence, an unexpected sense of calm could be felt. While the impact on the oceans caused by human activity is now widely documented, Linda has chosen instead to reveal its pristine beauty, creating images that invite a profound sense of wonder.

#24 Mating Mandarin Fish By Luc Rooman

In December 2025, Luc spent two weeks in the Lembeh Strait, exploring its volcanic seabed to document the underwater microcosm. During a dusk dive, he focused on the elusive mandarinfish, a species renowned for its extraordinary and fleeting twilight mating ritual. These small, vividly coloured fish emerge from the coral in pairs, briefly rising into the water column to complete reproduction, before vanishing in a fraction of a second. After countless attempts and patient waiting, Luc managed to capture the exact moment of the nuptial ascent, immortalizing the chromatic harmony and fragility of this brief instant.

#25 Back To Fishing By Romain Barats

A group of Gentoo penguins speeds through the icy waters of the Antarctic summer at Port Charcot. At this time of year, penguins rapidly build colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula, finding in this sheltered bay—surrounded by mountains and icebergs—an ideal refuge. Romain and his companions anchored their sailboat for three days near the colony. Every day they immersed themselves in the freezing waters to observe these incredibly curious birds, which repeatedly approached to investigate their presence. During a freediving session, a vast group of penguins suddenly passed above him, diving in unison to feed on krill. Clumsy on land, in water they transform into fast and perfectly agile swimmers. In just moments, Romain found himself surrounded by over 200 individuals, immersed in the midst of their frenzied activity.

#26 Heavy Load By Noam Kortler

In the crystal-clear waters of Moalboal, Philippines, nature stages a breathtaking visual spectacle. A magnificent hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) glides gracefully alongside a school of millions of sardines, creating the illusion that the turtle is carrying the vast mass of fish on its own shell. This species is classified as critically endangered and plays a vital role in coral reef ecosystems. Although omnivorous, its diet is primarily composed of marine sponges, and by feeding on them it helps control their growth, preventing them from smothering the corals.

#27 Golden Baitball By Linda Ness

In the chaos of the Sardine Run, off the East Coast of Africa, a rare Strepie bait ball is engulfed by predators. The fish move in panic, while common dolphins and a Bryde’s whale strike wave after wave, tearing through the swirling mass until only a few survivors remain.

#28 Symbiotic Motion By Daniel Taylor

A giant oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) glides through the water, its cephalic fins unfurling and steering its motion as two remoras (Remora remora) remain firmly attached along their edges. This pairing is one of the most iconic mutualistic relationships in the animal world: the remoras gain transportation, protection, and access to food scraps, while in return they act as living cleaning stations, removing bacteria, sloughed skin, and ectoparasites from their host. The relationship is not without nuance—remoras’ suckers can occasionally cause abrasion over time. Yet the bond endures. It is hard to imagine a manta without its remoras, and even harder to grasp how two such different species came to find each other so deeply intertwined. A quiet study of partnership and flow, where movement, dependence, and balance coexist in a single suspended moment.

#29 Expectant Parents By Mark Chang

Two whip coral gobies share a tender embrace while guarding their maturing eggs. These tiny fish—barely 3.5 centimeters long—are known to form monogamous pairs and to be remarkably dedicated parents, carefully tending their clutch until the eggs hatch. What makes this species even more extraordinary is its ability to change sex in response to specific social cues, ensuring the pair bond is always maintained. This rare scene—where fish appear to be showing real emotion—was captured in an extreme macro shot in which the entire frame is only about an inch wide, a reminder that some of the ocean's most intimate moments play out in a miniature world.

#30 The Bogue Hunt By Gonzalo Pérez Mata

A school of bogues (Boops boops), a gregarious Mediterranean fish commonly found in coastal waters, pursues a jellyfish (Rhizostoma luteum) just off the coast of La Herradura, southern Spain. For several minutes, the fish close in, surround and nibble at the jellyfish, feeding on it.

#31 A Sea Of Stars By Sage Ono

Just below the water’s surface, a juvenile flying fish (Exocoetidae) flares its glassy fins beneath its reflection. Wind and waves trace long converging lines across the upper ocean, known as sea slicks, which collect young fish and floating debris alike.

#32 Squid-Egg By Suliman Alatiqi

Squids lay their eggs in large, gelatinous masses, anchoring them to supports following the transfer of spermatophores by the males. This specimen would return every few minutes to add new egg capsules to the existing mass to ensure structural stability.

#33 Wild Traffic By Shailza Singhal

On the dry lakebed of Amboseli, this playful frame makes it look as if the elephant is about to give the jeep a mighty kick—while the little calf trails behind, watching curiously. A fun illusion, yes, but also a gentle reminder that this shared terrain exists in a delicate balance.

#34 Beneath The Maple Leaf By Shunsuke Nakano

In a warm spring fed by thermal water, a manatee rested calmly, while a maple leaf floated on the surface. Unlike the sea, the freshwater was still, broken only by the faint click of the camera shutter.

#35 Sea Lion Games By Tom Shlesinger

Renowned for their playful and inquisitive nature, sea lions are among the most engaging marine animals. Eager to interact, they gently nibble and chew on everything and everyone within their reach, showcasing both their exuberance and boundless curiosity.

#36 Symphony Of Coexistence By Alvaro Herrero Lopez Beltran

A group of rough-toothed dolphins swims in synchrony with a humpback whale during a heat run.

#37 Home Sweet Home By Paolo Bausani

Exploring the sandy sea floor, this tiny creature found an unusual home: an empty bivalve shell turned into the perfect shelter.

#38 Paper Nautilus By Giacomo Marchione

A female argonaut, or paper nautilus, drifts with the ocean current on a small palm leaf. Paper nautiluses typically live in the open ocean, which makes them very difficult to photograph.

#39 Flock Of Gold By Alex Pansier

At Snettisham in September 2024, tens of thousands of Red Knots crowd the last dry spots of the spring tide. In the golden light of sunrise, one bird breaks from the flock, a fleeting moment of individuality for these migrants that travel 15,000 kilometer annually.

#40 Cranes In The Rain By Ponlawat Thaipinnarong

The couple of sarus cranes was walking and intensively searching for food to feed their chicks, even though it was raining heavily. The more food they could feed their chicks, the higher the chance of their chicks' survival.

#41 A Rare Moment By Adam Horvath

A marten runs across the image against the night sky, glowing red due to the white balance settings. The ornate pattern of acacia leaves creates a delicate frame for the scene.

#42 The Bear And The Volcano By Kesshav Vikram

A lone brown bear strolls along the desolate shore of Kuril Lake, its stark silhouette set against the water, as the Iliinsky volcano emerges from the clouds and a slaty-backed gull flies past, perfectly aligned with its summit. Generally solitary, the bear is heading to join its kind in feasting on the sockeye salmon migrating upriver from July to September to spawn—a seasonal abundance that draws bears from across the remote wilderness of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia's Far East. Kurile Lake, a caldera formed by the collapse of a volcanic crater, is the largest sockeye salmon spawning ground in Eurasia; its deep, cold waters serve as a vital cradle for life in this untamed landscape.

#43 Commotion In The Ocean By Nur Tucker

A chaotic underwater struggle unfolds as northern gannets compete fiercely for discarded fish. What begins as a frantic aerial dive quickly transforms beneath the waves into a violent battle for survival. This intense feeding frenzy exposes the unseen consequences of human fishing activity—an artificial abundance that distorts natural behavior, pushing these seabirds into dangerous and exhausting competition.

#44 On The Edge By Alessandra Meniconzi

Transhumance in the Swiss Alps is an age-old tradition, a cyclical seasonal journey of livestock between high-mountain pastures and the valleys. During the summer, animals graze in the highlands under open skies, returning to the valleys as temperatures drop and pasture becomes scarce. In this vertical world, narrow and dizzying trails carved directly into sheer rock faces become vital arteries for the herd—a testament to the resilience required by such an ancient way of life. This seasonal migration continues to shape the cultural and natural landscape of the region, preserving a way of life that honors the cycles of nature.

#45 Look At Me By Reiko Takahashi

Clownfish usually live inside sea anemones to protect themselves from predators. In return, clownfish help sea anemones by improving water circulation and providing nutrients.

45 Incredible Wildlife Photos That Won Over The Judges Of The 2026 Siena Photo Awards