Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 winners – in pictures

A selection of the winning images from this year’s competition across topics ranging from underwater to urban wildlife, and photojournalism to mammal behaviour. The overall winner is Federico Veronesi of Italy for his powerful image of an elephant carrying a dead calf The winning photographs will be showcased at the Natural History Museum in London from 16 October 2026 until July 2027 Continue reading… View image in fullscreen Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 | The Aftermath by Federico Veronesi, Italy | Winner, Behaviour: Mammals Veronesi witnessed a powerful moment of an elephant carrying a dead calf, a rare glimpse into complex animal behaviours.

He was tracking elephants when he came across an unusual pattern of drag marks in a dry riverbed in Namibia. A female emerged with the calf, its leg wedged between her tusk and trunk. Behaviours centring on death have been observed in Asian and African elephants, including vocalisations, guarding the dead, inspecting and handling bones and carrying the deceased Photograph: Federico Veronesi/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Escape Artistry by Michał Michalski, Poland | Winner, Natural Artistry Michalski uses a slow shutter speed to create the illusion of trees still swathed in autumn foliage.

A field of unharvested sunflowers had attracted mixed flocks of birds, especially goldfinches and bramblings. As they took to the sky, startled by a sparrowhawk, Michalski blurred the movement against a backdrop of leafless birches. There is evidence that flocks containing multiple species forage more efficiently, partly because each brings different skills to the group Photograph: Michał Michalski/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen The Great Divide by Alex Visbal, Colombia | Winner, Wetlands: The Bigger Picture Visbal documents how a single engineered line can reshape an entire wetland.

The distinctive pink colour on the left is caused by microbes that thrive in extremely saline water, which happens when an area is cut off from a supply of fresh water. The ecology of the lake in Utah is in sharp decline due to industrial use, upstream diversions and climate change. Since this image was taken, the state has brought the area under conservation management Photograph: Alex Visbal/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Shedding Light by Agorastos Papatsanis, Greece | Winner, Plants and Fungi Papatsanis uses ultraviolet light to reveal the glowing yellow stems of ‘beautiful bonnet’ mushrooms growing from a decaying log.

On the lower slopes of Greece’s Mount Olympus, he experimented with UV illumination until it revealed the strongest fluorescent response from the mushrooms Photograph: Agorastos Papatsanis/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Night-Time Catch by Alex Lindbloom, US | Winner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture Lindbloom finds a whale shark investigating the catch of a bagan, or mobile net-fishing platform, in the inky waters off Papua. He started searching for sharks around dawn when the nets were still in the water.

Initially lacking natural light for his drone’s camera, he found these sharks illuminated by the bagan ’s bright lights Photograph: Alex Lindbloom/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen A Watchful Eye by Aaron Sanders, UK | Winner, Animal Portraits Sanders glimpses a common octopus behind a curtain of kelp in the waters off Cornwall. Aaron had been diving off Porthkerris Beach when he noticed the footprints of octopus suckers through a thin blade of kelp, and a single eye slowly emerging.

‘We remained perfectly still, watching one another with a seemingly shared curiosity,’ he says Photograph: Aaron Sanders/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Shifting Sand by Sitaram Raul, India | Winner, Behaviour: Invertebrates Raul encounters a scorpion burrowing into one of the shifting dunes of the Thar desert. Exploring the dunes at night, he saw many scorpions searching for prey.

But as sunrise approached, they started burrowing to avoid the intense heat. Raul timed the exposure so that the excavated sand was suspended in mid-air Photograph: Sitaram Raul/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen The Meeting Place by James Lewin, UK | Winner, Animals in their Environment Lewin watches a young bull elephant spray a group of zebra as they congregate in Kenya’s Chyulu hills.

While there was no shortage of subjects and action around this waterhole, he had to deal with the harsh, unforgiving light. He chose to soften the light using a camera converted to infrared, creating this dream-like scene Photograph: James Lewin/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Afternoon Snack by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, Germany | Winner, Rising Star Award Tinker-Tsavalas reveals the exquisite beauty of the tiniest of animals in the finest of detail.

When he spotted this robber fly, it had already impaled the flesh fly with its needlelike mouthparts. The bubbles forming in the victim’s eyes indicate that the robber fly has injected digestive enzymes that liquefy its internal tissues before they are sucked out Photograph: Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Secret Worlds by Kutub Uddin, Bangladesh/UK | Winner, Portfolio Award Kutub Uddin reveals a magical and often surreal world of slime moulds that can barely be seen with the naked eye.

In this image – Tiny Dancers – an immature Cribraria aurantiaca is at a tiny and often overlooked stage in its life. Uddin became interested in slime moulds in 2024, and devotes much of his time to revealing this hidden world – exploring his local woodlands in West Sussex, where fallen logs and damp forest floors provide opportunities for discovering these fascinating organisms Photograph: Kutub Uddin/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Warning Sign by Francisco Negroni, Chile | Winner, Photojournalism Negroni recorded this scene of a dead puma amid the rugged, windswept beauty of Patagonia – tied to the fence and presented as a hunting trophy.

The province of Santa Cruz in Argentina banned the hunting of pumas in 2025, but illegal persecution continues. Livestock predation is one of the major causes of human–puma conflict, and it’s suggested that enclosing sheep at night and using guard dogs can significantly reduce the loss of livestock without resorting to hunting Photograph: Francisco Negroni/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Birdsong Painted in Light by Konrad Gräeter, Germany | Winner, 15-17 Years Gräeter highlights a male blackbird singing in a vineyard early one April morning.

He had to crouch down low on the steep slope of the vineyard and point his camera through a gap in the foliage to frame the blackbird within its landscape. Blackbirds can be heard singing at different times of day, but their songs have the most complex compositions at dawn Photograph: Konrad Gräeter/Wildlife photographer of the year 2026 Share View image in fullscreen Protective Pose by Anton Sorokin, US | Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles Sorokin finds a California newt laying its eggs as it clasps vegetation that already holds another newt’s egg clutch.

He waded along the edge of the pond, carefully dipping his camera and lighting beneath the surface to record this remarkable view of parental care. The newts interlock their back feet to protect the clutch, which is vulnerable to predation by other newts.