The winners of this year’s Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition have been announced, celebrating the power of photography in promoting conservation and raising environmental awareness.
For almost a decade, Australia Zoo’s Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition has championed wildlife conservation through the lens of photography. Every year, thousands of passionate photographers from around the globe submit their work, capturing the incredible diversity of life on our planet.
World-renowned wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin said, “2025 was a record-breaking year, with more photographs entered than ever before. We were amazed by the calibre of images entered into the Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition, which celebrates the incredible beauty of the natural world.”
“We hope these incredible images not only help to deepen our appreciation for the natural world but also inspire us to take action to protect it for generations to come,” he said.
Australia Zoo received an outstanding array of entries across the competition’s categories.
The winning shot for 2025, captured by photographer Santiago Arias, features Porá, an endangered jaguar in El Impenetrable National Park, Argentina. Set to appear on the cover of Crikey Magazine’s summer print edition, the image is a powerful reminder of the importance of protecting wildlife and wild places. Porá, like other jaguars reintroduced to the region, is helping to restore a once-thriving population and inspire local conservation efforts.
A heartwarming image of a Sarus crane with its chick, photographed by Ponlawat Thaipinnarong in Buriram, Thailand, was named the winner of The Natural World category.
In the Crikey! Kids 15 – 17 category, 17-year-old Salahuddin Ahmed captured a striking photo of a damselfly peeking through a tiny hole in a vibrant green leaf, taken in Gaibandha, Bangladesh.
Panitbhand Paribatra was awarded the top prize in the Crikey! Kids 11 – 14 category for a breathtaking image of a humpback whale encounter, photographed in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Finally, 10-year-old Jamie Smart took home the win in the Crikey! Kids 10 Years and Under category with a spectacular close-up image of a little jumping spider, taken in Lamington National Park, Queensland.
The Crikey! Magazine Photography Competition is supported and judged by award-winning photographers and conservationists, including Robert Irwin, Russell Shakespeare, Ashleigh Scully, Kate Berry, Day Scott, Harman Singh Heer and Sean Scott.
