A badger glancing at a gun-wielding graffiti version of itself has won the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year, developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
British photographer Ian Wood took the image, titled “No Access,” at the seaside town of St. Leonards-on-Sea in England after chancing upon the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) as it ambled along a wall where residents often leave food scraps for foraging foxes.
According to a museum news release, Wood found a small hiding place by the road to take the photo of the curious badger, illuminated by the yellow glow of a lamppost.
“Ian’s flawlessly timed image offers a unique glimpse of nature’s interaction with the human world, underscoring the importance of understanding urban wildlife,” National History Museum director Douglas Gur said in the release.
Wood bested 24 other nominees of the people’s choice award, which received votes from 76,000 people.
“The outpouring of badger love since my photo was nominated for the People’s Choice Award has been beautifully overwhelming,” Wood said in the statement.
Besides feeling humbled by the win, he said there was a “darker side” to the image’s meaning.
“The badger cull – which is still ongoing – has decimated their numbers and I fear that unless the cull is stopped, we’ll only see badgers in urban settings in several parts of England. My hope is for this image to raise awareness of the damaging effect of the badger cull and help push for change,” Wood said.
The winning entries to the People’s Choice will be displayed at the Natural History Museum. Other category winners of the 65th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition won’t be announced until October 2025.
Below are the four other “highly commended” images that received the top votes:
Banner image of a Eurasian badger by Ian Wood/Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
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