Photo Contest Celebrates Nature's Surprising Interactions

Most creatures flee from crocodiles, but tiny biting flies have no fear of landing on these powerful predators to drink their blood.

Zeke Rowe, a PhD student from the Netherlands, photographed this unusual interaction in Panama's Coiba National Park and won the British Ecological Society's Capturing Ecology photography competition. He crouched low in a tidal marsh, getting as close as he dared to capture the crocodile's direct stare with flies perched on its head.

The contest celebrated 10 other incredible nature moments from around the world. Willem Kruger captured birds scattering from a waterhole as lions approached during the dry season in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park between South Africa and Botswana. Jamal Kabir photographed a Wallace's flying frog in Southeast Asia, showing off the webbed feet these amphibians use to glide between rainforest trees.

Some winning images highlighted scientists making a real difference. Peter Hudson documented researchers swabbing a bighorn sheep's nose in the Rocky Mountains as part of a disease monitoring program. Pneumonia was killing young lambs each spring, but scientists discovered healthy adult sheep were spreading the illness without showing symptoms.

The Ripple Effect

The testing and treatment campaign helped wild sheep populations bounce back by stopping disease transmission. Young lambs had better survival rates, allowing herds to recover naturally.

Other winners showed students using fishing nets to count coastal fish in New Brunswick, Canada, and a peaceful moment of a fly resting on a mushroom in Chile's mountainous nature reserve. These images prove that ecology isn't just about big dramatic moments but also quiet interactions that keep ecosystems balanced.

The competition reminds us that nature's most fascinating stories happen when we slow down and pay attention to the small details happening all around us.