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PHOTOGRAPHY & FILM: Ghostly shot of rare hyena in abandoned mining town wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025
15 October 2025
By James Hamilton
By James Hamilton
© Wim van den Heever // Wildlife Photographer of the Year
South African photographer Wim van den Heever has been named Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 for his haunting image Ghost Town Visitor — a brown hyena wandering through the skeletal remains of a long-abandoned diamond mining town in Kolmanskop, Namibia.
Captured using camera-trap technology, the image is the result of a decade-long pursuit, after Wim first spotted hyena tracks at the site. The photograph offers a powerful reflection on how wildlife adapts and endures in human-altered landscapes.
The brown hyena — the rarest of the world’s hyena species — is a mostly solitary, nocturnal scavenger that occasionally passes through Kolmanskop while hunting or searching for carrion along the Namib Desert coast. Camera-trap images like Wim’s are helping scientists better understand the elusive species’ behaviour and movement.
Kathy Moran, Chair of the Jury, said:
“How fitting that this photograph was made in a ghost town. You get a prickly feeling just looking at it — you know you’re in the hyena’s realm. The ‘urban’ setting is one that nature has reclaimed; abandoned by humans, repopulated by wildlife.”
Akanksha Sood Singh, Jury Member, added:
“It’s an eerie juxtaposition — the wild reclaiming civilisation. The hyena becomes a symbol of resilience amid decay. This picture tells a multi-layered story of loss, renewal, and nature’s quiet triumph.”
🌐 nhm.ac.uk/wpy
Below is a sneak peek at some of the highly commended images from the 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
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