Winning images from the World Nature Photography awards 2026

, The TimesChimpanzee Kayla receiving an ultrasound with medical staff.

Gold in the nature photojournalism category. Kayla, a 37-year-old female, has had her stomach shaved for an ultrasound at Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida. Founded in 1997, it is the largest privately funded chimpanzee sanctuary in the world

ALAIN SCHROEDER

A bare, dead tree stands in calm, knee-deep pink water under a turquoise sky with a distant horizon line.

Bronze in the landscapes and environments category. The Ilha do Cardoso State Park, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

THIAGO CAMPI

A close-up of a lioness holding a cub in her mouth, carrying it by the scruff of its neck.

Bronze in the animal portraits category. A lioness and her cub in the Mara North conservancy, Kenya

ELIZABETH YICHENG SHEN

A black sloth bear walks past a yellow and black tiger statue.

Bronze in the urban wildlife category. Taken in Junwani Kala, Chattisgarh, India, this image shows a wild sloth bear scavenging for food left by visitors at a remote temple complex

RAJARSHI BANERJI

Barn owl flying towards the viewer, talons outstretched, against a black background framed by dried grasses.

Silver in the behaviour — birds category. A barn owl descends on prey in Norfolk

VINCE BURTON

A black and white photograph of an adult pond slider turtle sunbathing on a stump in the water.

Gold in the black and white category. An adult pond slider turtle sunbathes on a stump in the early morning in Madison, Alabama

CHRISTOPHER BAKER

A brown bear dives into a river filled with red sockeye salmon.

Gold in the animals in their habitat category. A hungry brown bear launches headlong into a creek in Katmai national park, Alaska, to try to catch a sockeye salmon during the seasonal migration

CHARLIE WEMYSS-DUNN

A humpback whale's tail emerging from dark water, spraying shimmering water droplets against a backdrop of clouds and distant land.

Bronze in the behaviour — mammals category. A humpback whale in British Columbia, Canada

PAUL GOLDSTEIN

Aerial view of the Tasman River, a glacial river with many branching streams flowing into Lake Pukaki, surrounded by snowy mountains in New Zealand.

Silver in the landscapes and environments category. The Tasman river flows into Lake Pukaki from the high mountains of Aoraki/Mount Cook national park, New Zealand

STUART CHAPE

Elephant drinking from a plunge pool at Mokete Camp in Botswana.

Silver in the people and nature category. An elephant takes a drink from a pool outside tourist accommodation in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

BILL KLIPP 2024

A white great egret in flight, backlit against a clear blue sky, with its wings spread wide and mouth open.

Gold in the behaviour — birds category. A great egret in Kraft Azalea Garden, Winter Park, Florida. Each spring great egrets gather to nest high in the trees

FENQIANG LIU

Chinstrap penguins gathered on a massive iceberg.

Bronze in the animals in their habitat category. Chinstrap penguins tackle a steep hill on Elephant Island, Antarctica

HARRY SKEGGS

Two golden jackals baring their teeth at each other in a city at night.

Silver in the urban wildlife category. Male golden jackals face off in Kolkata, India

ARGHYA ADHIKARY

Green sea turtle surrounded by glass fish in Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia.

Bronze in the underwater category. A green sea turtle surrounded by glass fish on Ningaloo reef, Western Australia

AIMEE JAN

Golden autumn birch tree with lichen-laden branches, set against a backdrop of purple heather.

Gold in the plants and fungi category. Autumn colours explode in this portrait of a lichen-laden elder birch in Glen Affric, Scotland

DUNCAN WOOD

A zebra and a crocodile in the Mara River in Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya.

Silver in the behaviour — amphibians and reptiles category. A crocodile closes in on a zebra in the Mara river in Maasai Mara national park, Kenya

ROMAN BALAZ

Juvenile reef fish swimming over a piece of green plastic.

Bronze in the people and nature category. A juvenile reef fish clings to a piece of plastic waste in Anilao, the Philippines

ZHIYUE SHI

Black and white photo of four rhinos trotting, with two egrets in flight and on the ground beside them.

Bronze in the black and white category. Rhinos on the move in Solio game reserve, Kenya

PREETI AND PRASHANT CHACKO

Aerial view of a geothermal pool in Iceland, resembling a dragon's eye, with vibrant green and yellow water surrounded by textured earth.

Gold in the landscapes and environments category. A natural geothermal pool in Hveravellir, central Iceland

MIKI SPITZER

Gentoo penguins swimming underwater with snowy mountains visible above the waterline.

Silver in the underwater category. Gentoo penguins in Port Charcot, Antarctica

MATTHEW SHARP

A large bull moose with antlers standing next to a camera with a large lens on a tripod, all in a snow-covered field.

Gold in the people and nature category. A bull moose checks out camera equipment in Grand Teton national park, Wyoming

DEENA SVEINSSON

A golden butterfly on the shoulder of a young gorilla.

Gold in the animal portraits category. A young female gorilla observes a butterfly in Bwindi Impenetrable national park in Uganda

COPYRIGHT 2023, MARY SCHRADER

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