Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice winner has lynx effect

NZ Herald

25 Mar, 2026 12:41 AMQuick Read

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Josef Stefan (Austria) won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026 with this photo of a young Iberian lynx playfully throwing a rodent into the air before killing and devouring it. Josef spent two weeks observing lynxes from a hide at Torre de Juan Abad, Ciudad Real, Spain. It’s common for young lynxes to play with their prey before killing it. This one repeatedly threw the rodent high in the air and caught it again. The game lasted about 20 minutes before the lynx got bored. It then took the rodent behind a bush and ate it. Photo / Josef Stefan

A flying rodent and flamingos against a backdrop of power lines are among the stunning shortlist of photographs selected for The Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026 just announced in London. The winning image, decided by voters from around the year, was
Flying Rodent, by Josef Stefan, of Austria.

A trip in November 2024 took photographer Stefan to Spain where he captured a young lynx playing while it had caught a rat before killing and devouring it. He spent two weeks observing lynxes from a hide at Torre de Juan Abad, Ciudad Real.

Among the highly commended images is Alexandre Brisson’s Beauty and the Beast, taken in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

This image, taken in Walvis Bay, Namibia, by Alexandre Brisson (Switzerland, Highly Commended) captures the delicate grace of Lesser Flamingos in what is ironically called a “bird sanctuary”. The flamingos are juxtaposed against the stark intrusion of human activity, looming power lines. After a 10-hour drive, Brisson arrived at the sanctuary as the sun was setting. The smell from a nearby open-air dump was overwhelming, a sharp contrast to the beauty of the flamingos. He waited for the right moment, hoping to capture them flying between the power lines. When two finally took off, their graceful flight stood out against the backdrop. Photo / Alexandre Brisson

The flamingos are juxtaposed against the stark intrusion of human activity. Brisson, of Switzerland, said the smell from a nearby open-air dump was overwhelming, a sharp contrast to the beauty of the flamingos. These are among the top five images chosen by voters across the world, and the winning image will be displayed in the flagship exhibition at the Museum for the first time.