5 Most Stunning Images Of ‘Animal Formations’ From The 2024 Nature Photography Contest (2025)

In a flock of sheep, survival is a collective effort. Each member depends on the others, moving in unison as if guided by an invisible thread. But take one sheep away from the group, and its behavior shifts in strange ways—freezing in place, bolting unpredictably or making sudden leaps.

This instinctive need for proximity is why, in the cover photo, the sheep cluster tightly under a single tree’s shadow, leaving the other untouched—silently testifying to their deep-rooted social bonds. Captured by Marek Biegalski, this stunning drone photograph, Shadow Game, is a finalist in the 2024 edition of The Nature Photography Contest, an international celebration of the world’s most compelling nature imagery.

Collective animal behavior—the beautifully synchronized movements of flocks, schools and herds—offers some of nature’s most mesmerizing spectacles. Here are four other stand-out photos from the contest’s latest edition that showcase animal social behavior.

1. Flamingos In Blue Flight By Thomas Vijayan

In Blue Flight, a finalist image in the 2024 edition of The Nature Photography Contest, photographer Thomas Vijayan captures a rare aerial perspective of flamingos moving in synchronized formations across a vast body of water.

Just like many other migratory birds, flamingos also form aerodynamic V-formations in flight. However, in this image, they are skimming the water’s surface, leaving behind distinct trails of turbulence. This behavior suggests a couple of possibilities:

1. They could be trying to maximize foraging efficiency. Flamingos often move in large groups while feeding, stirring up sediment to access algae, small invertebrates and other food sources more effectively. Their synchronized movement helps optimize food availability.
2. They could be engaging in coordinated takeoff. The flamingos in the image may be maintaining tight formations as they transition between air and water. Takeoff requires a brief run against the wind, with rapid wing flapping to generate lift, while landing involves a controlled descent with synchronized movement to maintain flock cohesion.

Such instinctive synchrony is hardwired into flamingo behavior. Through visual cues and precise positional adjustments, they achieve extraordinary cohesion—often demonstrating synchronized wingbeats and maintaining optimal spacing and alignment.

2. Atlantic Spotted Dolphins In Connection By Remuna Beca

Atlantic spotted dolphins move through the water in coordinated formations, each mirroring the other’s movements with precision. Their speckled bodies stand out against the blue as they navigate together, a reflection of their strong social bonds. These pods are particularly interesting because they sometimes mix with bottlenose dolphins, forming multi-species groups that interact and travel together.

This striking synchrony captured in Remuna Beca’s Connection reveals much more than just aesthetic beauty. The synchrony amplifies their acoustic signals, allowing them to swiftly convey complex messages even amidst chaos underwater, according to a May 2017 study published in acta ethologica.

This vocal alignment effectively turns their synchronized swimming into a powerful, amplified signal that can either deter threats or rally distant pod members—a fascinating instance of nature merging visual artistry with strategic brilliance.

3. Walruses In Heartbeats of the Arctic—A Bird’s Eye View By Jose Martin Perdomo

On a remote Arctic shoreline, captured from above, a group of walruses lies huddled together, their massive bodies piled side-by-side in a tranquil moment of collective repose.

Jose Martin Perdomo’s photograph, aptly titled Heartbeats of the Arctic—A Bird’s Eye View, offers a rare glimpse into the deeply social nature of these enigmatic giants.

For walruses, lounging together on land or sea ice—a behavior known as hauling-out—isn’t merely socializing; it’s an essential survival tactic. These communal gatherings help walruses keep themselves safe and healthy by getting valuable rest, ensuring thermoregulation and also avoiding predators, according to a January 2015 study published in Marine Ecology Progress Series.

The thick layer of blubber beneath their skin, combined with the close physical contact among individuals, creates a thermal barrier against the extreme cold of their natural habitat. This allows walruses to maintain critical body temperatures even when temperatures plunge well below freezing.

4. Sardines In Circle Of Life By Wan Yong Chong

Wan Yong Chong’s spellbinding Circle of Life captures a sardine run (confirmed by the photographer), an annual phenomenon where millions of sardines swim in massive, synchronized schools not too far from the coastline.

Sardines exhibit intricate schooling behaviors that don’t just help them survive—they also help them thrive in style. By moving in large, well-structured groups, fishes have a few things to gain:

1. They can avoid predators with ease. By forming large groups, individual sardines reduce their chances of being targeted by predators. The sheer number of fish can overwhelm a predator’s ability to single out and capture one.
2. They can find food faster. Schooling allows sardines to locate and exploit food sources more effectively. The collective searching behavior increases the likelihood of finding food and reduces the time spent searching.
3. They spend less energy on the go. Swimming in a coordinated group reduces individual energy expenditure. The formation allows sardines to take advantage of the vortices created by their neighbors, facilitating more efficient movement through the water.

Despite their small size, sardines play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems, serving as a foundation for countless food webs. Understanding their schooling behavior isn’t just about admiring their beauty—it’s also vital for conservation efforts.

If sardines disappear, so too do the countless species that depend on them—from seabirds to sharks to the very predators that drive them into these jaw-dropping, hypnotic spirals.

Do photos like these inspire you to form deeper connections with the world around you? Take a 2-minute quiz to see where you stand on the Connectedness to Nature Scale.