Selected from a record-breaking 65,403 entries from 121 countries and territories, this year’s winners showcase powerful stories from the natural world and the urgent need to protect it.
For more than six decades, Wildlife Photographer of the Year has used the power of photography to connect people with nature, celebrating its beauty while highlighting the challenges wildlife faces around the world.
In a first for the competition’s 62-year history, both the adult and young overall winners were recognised for black-and-white photography, demonstrating the enduring power of monochrome imagery to tell compelling wildlife stories.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026
Italian wildlife photographer Federico Veronesi has been announced as Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 for his powerful image, ‘The Aftermath’.
Featuring a female elephant carrying a deceased calf in Huab River Valley, Namibia, Federico’s photograph is a challenging yet impactful insight into complex animal behaviour. Leading to the capture of this image, Federico was tracking elephants when he came across an unusual pattern of drag marks in the sand of a dry riverbed. The source became clear when he caught up with a family group. A female emerged with the calf, its leg wedged between her tusk and trunk.
Behaviours centering on death have been observed in both Asian and African elephants, including vocalisations, guarding the dead, inspecting and handling bones, and carrying the deceased. Some researchers suggest these behaviours could indicate an elephant’s journey to understanding death, while others interpret these actions as possible displays of grief.
Kathy Moran, Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury, says: “This photograph works on so many levels. Emotionally it’s a gut punch, heartbreakingly poignant. Intellectually it’s proof that animals have cognition. This photograph says it all!”
Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026
The competition’s Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 was announced as Oscar Whitfield, a young British photographer residing in Zimbabwe.
The winning image, ‘Labour of Love’, captures the arduous exertion of a dung beetle pushing its precious cargo. Using a fast shutter speed and high light sensitivity, Oscar lay flat on the ground to photograph the beetle at eye level, with the sunshine and heat creating dry dust all around him.
There are more than 5,000 species of dung beetle found around the world, and they play a vital role in their environments. Breaking up dung and burying it prevents the conditions required for methane production, reducing the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions. Burying dung also helps it decompose faster, reducing the number of pests affecting livestock and wildlife.
Jasper Doest, Jury Member for the sixty-second Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, says: “This is exceptionally well done. Photographing such a small, constantly moving subject is challenging, yet the image feels so intentional. The composition reveals an entire story and by doing so the photograph quietly reveals how life cycles depend on what we often overlook or dismiss.”
Category Winners and the 62nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition
The winning photographs will be showcased in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, from Friday 16 October 2026, including category winners across topics ranging from underwater to urban wildlife, and photojournalism to mammal behaviour.
The exhibition will also help visitors understand how our planet’s habitats are changing. Alongside the award-winning photographs, the sixty-first exhibition will provide insight into some of the habitats pictured by including the Natural History Museum’s groundbreaking metric, the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII). BII measures how much of a region’s natural biodiversity remains on a scale of 0 to 100%. Adopted as an official Global Biodiversity Framework indicator for decision-making, it is an essential tool for understanding, monitoring and communicating biodiversity changes on a global scale and tracking international progress towards conservation goals.
Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, says: “This year’s winning photographs demonstrate the extraordinary power of wildlife photography to help us see nature differently. From a deeply affecting image of an adult elephant carrying a dead calf to the determination of a dung beetle rolling a ball many times its own size, these photographs capture moments that are at once intimate, surprising and profoundly revealing. Together they remind us that every species plays a role in the complex web of life, and why understanding and protecting the natural world has never been more important.”
The category winners, as well as the full set of images selected for the competition’s sixty-first portfolio, were selected anonymously by an international panel of experts across the disciplines of wildlife photography, filmmaking, conservation and science. The images were selected for their originality, technical excellence, ethical practice and creativity.
The category winners across young and adult categories are:
The sixty-second Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, will open on Friday 16 October 2026 until Sunday 11 July 2027. The exhibition will also embark on a UK and international tour to inspire millions to appreciate and conserve the natural world.
Our Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is supported by Lead Corporate Sponsor Nuveen, a leading global asset manager.
Tickets are available here.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Images and Media Contact
To receive the press pack, arrange interviews with photographers or judges, or express interest in attending the press preview of the exhibition at the Natural History Museum, please contact Laura Gosney (Communications Manager) at [email protected]
Exhibition at Natural History Museum, London
Adult tickets from £19.00*, concession tickets £15.20*, and child tickets £9.50*. Off-peak adult tickets from £17.00, off-peak concession ticket £13.60, and off-peak child ticket £8.50 (*Prices excluding optional Gift Aid donation to the Museum)
The exhibition is open Monday – Sunday, 10.00-17.50 (last admission at 16.30), and weekends sell out quickly
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 36, edited by Keith Wilson and with a foreword by Kathy Moran, will be published on 14 October 2026, RRP £28
Social Media
If using our images on social media, please use the following tags:
Instagram: @nhm_wpy
Facebook: /WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear
#WPY62
WPY63 – The Sixty-Third Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition
Entrants aged 18-26 and under may enter up to 25 images for free, and entrants aged 17 and under may enter up to 10 images for free. Entrants from 114 countries across Africa, Southeast Asia and South America can also enter for free (please find the full list in the link below)
About Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Now in its sixty-second year, Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the Natural History Museum, London’s, global platform for the world’s best nature photography and wildlife photojournalism. Our annual competition, receiving over 65,000 entries, is open to photographers of all ages, nationalities and experience levels. With our touring exhibition and outreach activities engaging millions around the globe every year, we invite ever more people to celebrate and advocate for the natural world.
About the Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum is a world-leading scientific research centre and the UK’s number one visitor attraction.
We are welcoming more than 7 million people to our blockbuster exhibitions, galleries and gardens and our 350 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency – from reversing biodiversity loss to resourcing the green economy.
With over 80 million specimens, spanning 4.5 billion years, the breadth and depth of the Museum’s collection make it the most important of its kind in the world.
Through our NHM150 campaign, we are raising an additional £150 million to transform our iconic building and meet our mission of creating over 100 million advocates for the planet by 2031 – the Museum’s 150th anniversary.
About Nuveen
Nuveen is a global investment leader, managing $2.6T in public and private assets for clients around the world, as of June 30, 2026. With broad expertise across income and alternatives, we invest in the growth of businesses, real estate, infrastructure, and natural capital, providing clients with the reliability, access, and foresight unique to our 125+ year heritage. Our prevailing perspective on the future drives our ambition to innovate and adapt our business to the changing needs of investors — all to pursue lasting performance for our clients, our communities, and our global economy.
