Earth Photo awards gallery spotlights winning images, from a poacher’s handprint to efforts to stop turtle trafficking

The Earth Photo awards have released a set of winning photographs that curators say were chosen for visual impact and conservation relevance, including images that depict wildlife crime, animal rescue, and people affected by environmental pressures. The gallery, published July 14, presents multiple prize-level works and emphasizes the range of techniques used, from camera-based reporting to staged, scientific visual storytelling.

Among the images shown is a photograph described as requiring close inspection to spot a poacher’s handprint, drawing attention to the physical traces of illegal wildlife hunting. The selection also includes work centered on scientific “tricks,” presented as a way to make environmental issues legible to wider audiences rather than relying only on traditional wildlife scenes.

Another winning entry highlighted in the gallery focuses on stopping turtle traffickers. The image is presented within the award’s environmental enforcement theme, tying photography to the wider goal of disrupting illegal trade in protected species.

The gallery also features an animal rescue story in which the subject is described as a stranded seal. The framing indicates a rescue-and-recovery narrative, presenting the animal’s condition and the urgency of intervention as the central visual message.

In addition to wildlife and enforcement, the Earth Photo awards selection includes an image described as documenting displaced workers. That inclusion expands the awards beyond ecosystems alone, placing human displacement and community disruption within the same conservation-themed visual field.

The Guardian’s gallery format organizes the winners as a sequence of still images, with short context for each entry, and it presents the set as a snapshot of the year’s prize work. The publication does not, in the portion provided, enumerate all category titles, photographers, or the full judging rubric, so specific names and category levels are not included here.

For readers, the practical impact of the announcement is that the award-winning photographs can circulate through education and media channels as ready-made conservation visuals, potentially increasing public attention to wildlife protection, anti-trafficking efforts, and emergency response to stranded animals. It also underscores that the awards are drawing attention not only to direct environmental harm, but to enforcement and community consequences.

As with many photography awards, follow-on coverage typically clarifies which images correspond to which categories and may include photographer statements and details about the conservation work the images support. Additional reporting or the awards’ own materials may also provide the most precise identification of each winning photograph and the organizations involved in the underlying conservation efforts.