Chris Freelance, One step at a time (ANIMALS 2026)

This young male yellow-eyed penguin was being released back into the wild from rehabilitation. For this endangered species, every healthy individual back in the ocean is a small but crucial step forward for securing the future of one of the larger extant species of penguins.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.