{"id":298865,"date":"2026-02-24T00:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T00:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/298865\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T00:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T00:14:14","slug":"a-memory-that-will-live-with-me-forever-extraordinary-white-whale-image-wins-world-nature-photographer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/298865\/","title":{"rendered":"“A memory that will live with me forever.” Extraordinary white whale image wins World Nature Photographer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

A stunning image of a rare white humpback whale has won the grand prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year 2026.<\/p>\n

Jono Allen\u2019s image of a calf and its mother was taken in Vava\u2019u, Tonga. Humpback whales migrate to Tonga\u2019s warm waters to give birth, but a white whale is exceptionally rare. The calf, who was named M\u00e3hina<\/a> by locals, was first filmed in 2024.<\/p>\n

Jono said: “Sharing this moment with M\u00e3hina and her protective mother is a memory that will live with me forever. It was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary days I have ever experienced in the ocean \u2013 and perhaps ever will.”<\/p>\n

World Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 received thousands of entries from photographers across 51 countries, in categories ranging from urban wildlife to photo journalism. <\/p>\n

The 2027 competition is also now officially open for entries, with photographers able to apply on the
World Nature Photography Awards\u00a0website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

World Nature Photographer of the Year 2026 winners
\nM\u00e3hina by Jono Allen \u2013 Underwater category, Gold and Grand prize
\n\"RareJono Allen took this incredible image of a rare white humpback calf in Vava\u2019u, Tonga. Sharing the image on their Facebook page, Jono wrote: “Only approximately 1 in 40,000 humpbacks have this rare all white skin condition and never before has one been witnessed yet alone photographed in Tonga.” – Credit – Jono Allen \/ World Nature Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Determination by Elizabeth Yicheng Shen \u2013 Animal portraits category, Bronze
\n\"BRONZEA lioness gently moves her cub. Elizabeth captured this image on a game drive in Mara North Conservancy, Kenya – Credit: Elizabeth Yicheng Shen \/ World Nature Photography Awards<\/p>\n

Splash by Charlie Wemyss-Dunn \u2013 Animals in their habitat category, Gold
\n\"SplashCharlie Wemyss-Dunn captures the dramatic moment a brown bear attempts to catch sockeye salmon in Katmai National Park, Alaska – Credit: Charlie Wemyss-Dunn \/ World Nature Photography Awards<\/p>\n

A delicate balance by Henning Olsen \u2013 Behaviour \u2013 Amphibians and reptiles category, Bronze
\n\"BRONZEHenning Olsen photographs the moment two damselflies perch on the head of a grass snake in Denmark’s Boserup Lake – Credit: Henning Olsen \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nEye on the prize by Vince Burton \u2013 Behaviour – Birds category, Silver
\n\"EyeVince Burton captures the last view of a barn owl’s prey in this shot in Norfolk, England – Credit: Vince Burton \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nHome on the leaves by Minghui Yuan \u2013 Behaviour – Invertebrates category, Gold
\n\"GOLD“In the tropical rainforest of Xishuangbanna [China], I found a moss moth larva creating a protective net nest on newly grown tender leaves of plants. Moss moth larvae bite off their toxic hair like structures and use their sticky saliva to build their own houses. It uses its own poisonous fur as building material, which can resist attacks from parasitic wasps and ants.” – Credit: Minghui Yuan \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nBear hug by Michael Stavrakakis \u2013 Behaviour – Mammals category, Silver
\n\"SILVERMichael took this image of a mother polar bear and her 6-month-old cub in Svalbard, Norway. Cubs stay with their mothers for just over two years – Credit: Michael Stavrakakis \/ World Nature Photography Awards<\/p>\n

The rugby players by Preeti and Prashant Chacko \u2013 Black and white category, Bronze
\n\"RugbyPreeti and Prashant Chacko specialise in black and white photography. Here, rhinos appear to charge egrets in the Solio Game Reserve, Kenya – Credit: Preeti and Prashant Chacko \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nGhost of the reef by Simon Biddie \u2013 Nature category, Gold
\n\"GOLDThe ghost goby is native to the Red Sea and western Indo-Pacific. Here, one blends into a reef at Marsa Alam, in Egypt – Credit: Simon Biddie \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nChimp paradise 30 by Alain Schroeder \u2013 Nature photojournalism, Gold
\n\"GOLDThis image shows Kayla, a 37-year-old female chimpanzee, in preparation for an ultrasound. This image was taken at the chimpanzee sanctuary Save the Chimps, in Fort Pierce, Florida – Credit: Alain Schroeder \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nThe wildlife photographer by Deena Sveinsson \u2013 People and nature category, Gold
\n\"GOLDDeena Sveinsson’s image captures the moment a bull moose appears to look down the lens of a camera in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming – Deena Sveinsson \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nThe eye of the dragon by Miki Spitzer \u2013 Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments, Gold
\n\"GOLDThe swirling colours of a geothermal pool are captured in Miki Spitzer’s drone image, taken at Hveravellir in central Iceland – Credit: Miki Spitzer \/ World Nature Photography Awards
\nExplosion of life by Giovanni Vicari \u2013 Plants and fungi category, Silver
\n\"SILVERXylaria hypoxylon fungus (also known as candlesnuff fungus) is often found growing on dead wood and contains anti-viral properties. Giovanni took this image in in Piana di Segni, Italy – Credit: Giovanni Vicari \/ World Nature Photography Awards<\/p>\n

I am the boss by Arghya Adhikary \u2013 Urban wildlife category, Silver
\n\"SILVERThe capital of India’s West Bengal state, Kolkata, has a population of Indian jackals (Canis aureus indicus, a subspecies of the golden jackal) \u2013 but they are threatened by increasing urbanisation – Credit: Arghya Adhikary \/ World Nature Photography Awards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A stunning image of a rare white humpback whale has won the grand prize of World Nature Photographer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[111,139,69,147,406],"class_list":["post-298865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}