Striking Arctic wildlife photo captured just moments after brutal predator-prey encounter wins major award

The winners of the Nature inFocus Photography Awards 2025 are here. Established to celebrate extraordinary wildlife imagery and conservation storytelling, the awards have grown into a global celebration of nature photography.

This year's awards attracted entries from more than 1,250 photographers in 38 countries and received nearly 16,000 submissions. The jury selected the winners from categories ranging from Animal Portraits and Conservation Photography to Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat and more.

Among the standout winners is Amit Eshel, whose image Ancient Rivals won the Animal Behaviour category, and depicts an Arctic wolf and a muskox herd. The scene shows the predator's calculated focus and the herd's defensive circle, highlighting the tension and strategy of survival in the Arctic wilderness.

Ancient Rivals

On Instagram, Eshel says, "To witness such a wild moment of nature between predator and prey opens my imagination to ancient life and unknown times, a strong reminder of the fact that these majestic creatures are here to stay and must be protected."

And explains, "Arctic Wolf whose face bears witness to what happened just a few moments earlier.

"The muskox herd is standing in the natural defense formation facing its predators, forming a protective circle around its young calves with the adults formidable horns facing outwards.

"While often an effective method against predators, this time the wolf pack managed to chase down the herd and during the panic snatched a couple of few days old calves that were lagging behind.

"It took the pack a short time to tear the tender calves to pieces, not a meal that could feed well the entire pack for a long, but the pack decided not to risk themselves again by trying to break the Musk Ox defense formation in order to hunt one of the adults, and continued on in search of more easy prey during the calving season is in early spring."

A winning gear combo

Eshel captured this moment using a Canon EOS R5 – a full-frame mirrorless camera – paired with the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens. Launched five years ago, the R5 remains a powerhouse in 2025, with its 45MP sensor, 8-stop in-body image stabilization, lighting-fast autofocus, and high-speed burst – all ideal for unpredictable wildlife.

In fact, the Canon EOS R5 is often the camera behind award-winning images – as seen this year at the British Photography Awards, where several winning shots were captured using it. You can read the full story here.

The 24-105mm optic gave Eshal the versatility, sharpness, and stabilization needed to capture the Arctic scene with clarity and precision.

You can view Eshel's and other winning images on the Nature inFocus website – a great opportunity to explore the incredible range of Earth's wildlife and the urgency to protect it.

You might like...

Browse the best cameras for wildlife photography, and the best lenses for bird photography and wildlife.

Looking for competitions to enter? Here are 10 global photo contests now open for entries from November to January.