A delicate balance

The winners of the 57th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced late in 2021.

- Photography by Brent Stirton, Alex Mustard, Majed Ali, Stefano Unterthiner, Jennifer Hayes, Zack Clothier

The competition celebrates the splendour of the natural world, but increasingly, it also highlights the complicated relationship that humans have with animals and the environment. This is a necessary evolution, for beauty alone will not change the world.

The prestigious competition is owned by the Natural History Museum in London. More than 50000 submissions were received from 95 countries and the winners were selected anonymously by a panel of international experts.

The winning shots are all exceptional – each one demonstrates artistic composition, technical innovation and truthful interpretation of the natural world. We have selected some of the most powerful; to view them all, visit the website: nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery

The healing touch

Brent Stirton, South Africa

The Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo cares for chimpanzees orphaned by the bushmeat trade. Many of the staff are themselves survivors of military conflict in the DRC; working at the centre helps with their own recovery.

This is Itsaso Vélez del Burgo, one of the directors of the centre, with a newly rescued chimp as she slowly introduces it to the others. Young chimps are given one-to-one care to ease their psychological and physical trauma. The chimps at Lwiro are the lucky ones. Fewer than one in ten are rescued after having seen the adults in their group killed for meat. Most have experienced starvation and suffering.