What does wildlife in a city really look like?
Is it a family of parakeets arguing louder than the morning traffic from a hole in an apartment wall? A spotted owlet peeking out from a crack in an old building wall? A monkey sneakily stealing bananas from the tree in your garden before disappearing across the rooftops? Or a black kite casually sitting atop a cellphone tower, surveying the entire neighbourhood like it’s in charge of the city?
When we think of wildlife photography, our minds often jump to dense forests, fascinating safaris, or rare animals hidden deep in the wilderness. But this time, we wanted to bring the focus closer to home, of spotting wildlife right into the middle of our cities — in our neighbourhoods, office buildings, rooftops and balconies.
That’s what our recent “Where the Cities Meet the Wild”, Wildlife SOS’s Urban Wildlife Photography Contest, aimed to do.
And honestly, we were overwhelmed with the number of stories that came in along with the pictures that were sent across.
We received hundreds of thoughtful, striking, and deeply observant submissions from people who noticed the wild from the lens of their everyday city life. Some photographs were funny, some emotional, and some made us stop and think about how much wildlife adapts just to survive in spaces built and constructed entirely by humans, for humans.
After a lot of discussion and revisiting every entry more than once, we finally selected four winning photographs that stood out for both their visual storytelling and the tales behind them.
Here are the winners, along with the inspiration behind their photographs:
Shailza Singhal
“A fox at the edge of a human settlement was moving along the cemented boundary. Its near perfect alignment with the iron rod shows how wildlife is increasingly forced to adapt to rigid, man-made structures.”
Stephanie Froebel
“After two years of dreaming and planning my search for the endangered lion-tailed macaques (LTMs), I finally made it to Valparai, India. With less than 2500 LTMs in the wild, I thought I would be spending my weeks commuting between the village and the forest. With forest fragmentation on the rise, LTMs are moving down from the trees and into the villages, turning pipes into tree trunks and roofs into canopies.”
Saurabh Chakraborty
“Nestled within a narrow crevice of a concrete façade, three barn owls peer into the night, embodying resilience amid urban expansion. Illuminated by artificial light and framed by pipes and windows, they transform human architecture into a surrogate habitat. This intimate moment highlights nature’s adaptability, revealing how wildlife thrives within the overlooked recesses of cities, redefining the boundaries between the built environment and the wild.”
Manaska Mukhopadhyay
“Black kites are common in Kolkata, often seen soaring as they search for prey. This particular bird was unusually curious—it landed on our office window pane and peered inside. For a brief moment, we observed each other. As it looked out over the city, I imagined its view of Kolkata from above, turning an ordinary day into a rare and memorable encounter.”
To every single person who participated, thank you for sharing your perspective with us. Through your lenses, we saw curiosity, resilience, coexistence, and countless small moments most people walk past without noticing. And while we could only select four winners this time, every submission contributed to making this contest truly special.
Stay tuned for more Wildlife SOS contests, campaigns, and opportunities to celebrate the incredible world of wildlife through your creativity. The next story worth capturing might just be waiting outside your window!
