More than 200 photographers have joined forces to raise awareness – and funds – for wildlife and conservation in the face of changing government priorities.
Prints for Wildlife, launched in 2020 in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, is back with a renewed sense of urgency as its founders highlight what they see as a crisis in funding by governments.
“In 2025, the crisis isn’t a virus,” says Pie Aerts, a co-founder of Prints for Wildlife. “It’s a withdrawal of critical funding for wildlife and conservation.
“Prints for Wildlife is more than a fundraiser – it’s a platform for connection, consciousness and hope in a time of crisis.”
Fellow co-founder Marion Payr stresses the impact art and photography can have to raise public awareness in the light of a global move away from environmental protection.
“We’ve witnessed how art can spark action,” she says. “We know many people feel powerless in the face of these changes, but there is power in photography. There is power in community. And above all there is still hope.”
Proceeds from the print sale fund Conservation International, a not-for-profit organisation working across more than 100 countries with governments, businesses and local communities to help conserve the planet.
This year’s fundraiser, Edition Hope, runs between 21 August and 21 September. Limited-edition prints, each priced USD $125, have been donated by established and emerging conservation photographers including Joel Sartore, Florian Ledoux, Gurcharan Roopra, Björn Persson and Vicki Jauron.
Here are 10 of our favourite images.
1. ‘Giraffes can dance’ by Vicki Jauron (See main image above)
"We were waiting for a leopard to come out of the bush in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. After a bit of time, our guide happened to look behind us across the river and noticed that there were a few giraffes interacting on the other side. We decided that would be a more engaging opportunity and backed up to park and watch them.
"We were so happy we did. These two young bulls were sparring but not in a serious manner. It looked like the slightly older bull was teaching the younger one. He was pushing him and occasionally making contact, but gently.
"Their movements and gestures were slow and elegant, often completely synchronised as shown here. It was more like a dance than anything else, which is why I titled this image ‘Giraffes can dance’."
2. ‘Call of the kopjes’ by Alexandra Wood
“Photographed in the Eastern Serengeti, Tanzania, during the rains, ‘Call of the kopjes’ portrays a lone male lion, known locally as Scar, standing sentinel atop a granite outcrop as a storm gathers behind him.
“With his namesake wound etched across one eye, Scar was a formidable and familiar presence in the region, his reign marked by resilience. In this fleeting moment, his stance felt both defiant and timeless. The kopje, more than a perch, was his vantage point – a place of command and refuge above the stormy plains.”
3. ‘Natural power’ by Bjorn Persson
“A southern white rhino with an unusually long horn stands steadfast against a black backdrop, embodying nature’s unyielding power. This was taken in Solio Game Reserve, Kenya.
“I felt truly blessed to see such a majestic and rare creature, and it was as if I had been transported back in time to an era when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Using a monochrome style I intended to capture the animal’s raw power and ancient heritage.
“Due to poaching, only a few of these extraordinary giants remain in the wild. Poachers target the longest horns, and just one kilogram of rhino horn can be worth up to USD $60,000 on the black market.”
4. ‘Mittens’ by Denise Ippolito
“Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, are native to Japan. They live in forested areas and thrive in social groups.
“I photographed this snow monkey in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, just after a heavy snowstorm. The primate stopped briefly during its play. I particularly liked its snow-matted hands and expressive face.”
5. ‘A polar romance’ by Florian Ledoux
“On the mountain slopes a male and female polar bear found solace in each other’s company, sharing an intimate moment during their courtship, which took place on the Svalbard Archipelago in Norway.
“After mating they fell asleep together. In that moment, despite the icy cold, the emotion was so intense that tears came down my face, freezing immediately.”
6. ‘The moment’ by Georgina Goodwin
“A quiet connection between Naltwasha, a Samburu girl, and Shaba, an orphaned baby elephant at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya. This was captured while on assignment for Conservation International’s VR film My Africa.
“This moment unfolded as dark storm clouds parted and sunlight poured in, just as the two met for the first time – a moment used for the film’s front cover poster. For a split second, everything aligned. Set in Samburu County, this image reminds us of the fragile, beautiful bond we share with nature and the power of community-led conservation.”
7. ‘Trunk tangle’ by Mary Schrader
“Two young elephants face off in a playful spar, trunks twisting and tusks clacking in a dance of strength and skill. They lunged and leaned, backed away and returned, locked in a rhythm of push and pull, challenge and retreat.
“For a few electric moments the clearing pulsed with energy as the animals were completely absorbed in their ritual. In Sabi Sands Nature Reserve, South Africa, the bush became a quiet stage where wild stories unfolded.”
8. ‘The sentinel’ by Stefan Christmann
“This photo shows the emperor penguin colony of Atka Bay, Antarctica, close to German research station Neumayer-III. They're standing in front of one of the most prominent icebergs, which got stranded there in 2012.
“For its frowny face-shaped ice cave we called it ‘Sad Glacier’. Sad Glacier was a landmark that was used by both penguins and humans to gain orientation on the otherwise flat sea ice, especially during bad weather conditions.
“During early summer, shortly before the annual sea ice break-up, Sad Glacier ungrounded and became mobile again. It eventually flipped upside down after the penguins had left the colony, as if its job had been accomplished. While I was sad about the fact I would never get to see Sad Glacier again, it comforts me to know that after the flip, it was finally smiling.”
9. ‘Water games’ by Vladimir Cech Jr
“Two Bengal tiger sub-adults playing in a little waterhole in the otherwise dry landscape of Ranthambhore National Park in India.
“I visit India regularly in the peak of the dry season, so I’m used to good tiger sightings, but the moments I spent with these ‘little villains’ was really special. They put on a perfect show and at one point practically the whole family was in the water, including the mother.”
10. ‘A brushstroke of gold’ by Gurcharan Roopra
“In the stillness of night at Shompole Community Land in southern Kenya, a Masai giraffe cautiously approached the water. Every movement was slow and deliberate.
“Photographing this moment meant waiting in silence, working in near total darkness. With a long exposure and just a flicker of light, I captured the graceful arc of motion as the giraffe drank – a fleeting, almost mythical scene. One frame. One breath. The photo is a rare glimpse into the secret life of the wild.”
Prints for Wildlife runs between 21 August and 21 September 2025.
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