A tri-spine horseshoe crab is seen moving slowly over the mud off of Pangatalan Island, Palawan, Philippines. Photographer Laurent Ballesta won the grand prize for this photo. (Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)A tri-spine horseshoe crab is seen moving slowly over the mud off of Pangatalan Island, Palawan, Philippines. Photographer Laurent Ballesta won the grand prize for this photo. (Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A tri-spine horseshoe crab is seen moving slowly over the mud off of Pangatalan Island, Palawan, Philippines. Photographer Laurent Ballesta won the grand prize for this photo. (Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

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F​rench underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 for his gorgeous photo of a tri-spine horseshoe crab in the waters off of Pangatalan Island, Philippines. His image was selected out of nearly 50,000 entries from around the world.

(​MORE: Finalists In The 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards Released)

B​allesta is now a two-time winner of the grand prize. The photographer won the 2021 competition as well, for an image of mating camouflage grouper taken in French Polynesia.

T​he Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London. This year’s competition featured 19 categories, including “Animals in their Environment,” “Underwater” and “Plants and Fungi.” The competition also includes Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards for age groups including “10 and Under,” “11 to 14 Years” and “15 to 17 Years.”

D​irector of the Natural History Museum, Dr. Doug Gurr, explained in a press release that “whilst inspiring absolute awe and wonder, this year’s winning images present compelling evidence of our impact on nature — both positive and negative. Global promises must shift to action to turn the tide on nature’s decline.”

W​inning images will be displayed at London’s Natural History Museum from Friday, Oct. 13, 2023 through Sunday, June 30, 2024.

C​lick through the slideshow above to see some of this year’s winners.

Senior editor Nicole Bonaccorso works as weather.com’s photo editor and writes about breaking news, travel, climate and more.

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