Spring 2026 Wildlife Photography Contest – 1st Place Winner

Killer of Killers by Gabriel Watson

I was genuinely stunned when I took this photograph. How often does one witness an owl killing another owl of the same species? I had heard of it happening, but never imagined I would see it in real life — let alone capture it on camera.

I was getting ready for school when I noticed two Great Horned Owls: one across the street, one in the tree above our house. I went inside to grab my camera — a Nikon D850 with a Tamron 600mm lens — and when I came back out, the owl in the tree had attacked and was killing the other. Recognizing the significance of what was unfolding, I chose to keep my distance rather than interfere, and began shooting. This frame caught the victim’s eyes still wide open in its final moments.

This was not a predation event but a territorial dispute — one that turned far more violent than what is typically observed between members of the same species. When it was over, the victor took off and reclaimed his mate, who had been watching from a nearby tree throughout.

Photographed in Washington State.