Chilling Image of a Crocodile Being Attacked Wins Capturing Ecology Photo Awards
Every living creature in nature carries tremendous wisdom and its own unique trove of fascination, if we pay attention. Off the southwest coast of Panama in Coiba National Park, one crocodile exhibited a brilliant display of patience and a literal demonstration of what it means to keep your cool and not bat an eyelid.
Award-winning photographer and PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands, Zeke Rowe (@zekeseeksnature) was on a break from his research. While he was wandering off the beach, he noticed a crocodile who seemed to be meditating in the quiet waters of a tidal marsh. He got as close and low as he dared, waiting to catch its direct gaze. When he did, he snapped a photograph of the untamed gaze on his camera, which ended up winning the Capturing Ecology Photo Competition 2025. Titled “Wouldn’t Hurt a Fly,” the photograph shows that while a swarm of blood-sucking horse flies latched onto its head, feeding on its blood, the American crocodile remained unflinchingly calm and utterly unmoved, demonstrating a lesson in unbelievable patience. The picture captured the olive-brown-colored snout with two feral, bulbous golden eyes staring at the camera with unwavering focus.
The competition was organized by the British Ecological Society, the world’s oldest ecological society. Each photograph, the society says, has a story to tell. In this case, for instance, unfaltering tenacity and a stoic attitude. The photo was shortlisted from over 1,100 submissions by international ecologists and photographers spanning 80 countries and 7 continents. Rowe is “absolutely over the moon,” he said on Instagram. He shared that winning this competition has shown him that “sometimes all it takes is some belief," confidence, and overcoming fear to be proud of oneself.
Other winning photographs and runners-up are just as fascinating, including one by photographer Willem Kruger. Titled “Lioness one eye behind birds,” the photo, taken in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the border between South Africa and Botswana, records a flock of startled sparrows and other birds near a waterhole as they are disturbed by a lioness who is arriving to drink water. It won the Interactions category of the competition. From Rowe’s photo depicting patience to Kruger’s image expressing fear and focus, 2025’s winning collection is a mixed bag of emotions.
Some of the other photographs included a green-and-red Siamese Peninsular pit viper draped around the trees in Malaysia; a black-banded jackal trying to catch a bird in Namibia; a tiger rattlesnake with vivid colors on its body painting a stunning contrast with desert sand; an Iberian lynx with a rabbit clinging from its mouth; a cluster of glowing blue mushrooms; Bangladeshi fishermen spreading their fishnets; a black chimpanzee lying on hospital bed after being rescued from animal traffickers; thousands of jute sticks floating in water creating interesting colorful patterns; leaf-footed bug babies gathering in an amber egg casing beneath leaf foliage; a tiny fly sitting on a mushroom; a flying frog with parachute-like feet, and others.
In Category Winners, an image called “The False Eye” grabbed The Ecologists’ Choice prize. Captured by Sritam Kumar Sethy, the image shows a green Common Mormon Swallowtail caterpillar gazing at the camera with a swollen thorax and using snake mimicry to deter predators. Every image showcased here vibrates with a complex mosaic of emotion, reminding us of the treasure of intelligence that sits in the pieces of the world, a hotpot of lessons waiting to be noticed and delicate complexity that needs our protection.
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