{"id":631763,"date":"2026-10-15T21:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T21:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/631763\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T21:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T21:26:15","slug":"the-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2026-winners-showcase-natures-power-and-vulnerability-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/631763\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 Winners Showcase Nature’s Power and Vulnerability \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federico Veronesi<\/a> received the top honor of the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/a> for his poignant black-and-white image of a female elephant carrying her deceased calf. The portrait represents a rare insight into animals\u2019 habits we have yet to fully understand and demonstrates the power of timing and persistence in photography.<\/p>\n

Veronesi had been tracking elephants in the Huab River Valley of Namibia when he encountered some unusual drag marks on the earth. He eventually caught up with the family, and the adult emerged with the calf\u2019s leg wedged between her trunk and tusk. \u201cBehaviours 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,\u201d a statement says. \u201cSome researchers suggest these behaviours could indicate an elephant\u2019s journey to understanding death, while others interpret these actions as possible displays of grief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Federico Veronesi (Italy), \u201cThe Aftermath.\u201d Winner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Behaviour: Mammals category. An elephant carries a dead calf in a rare glimpse into complex animal behaviours<\/p>\n

Additional winners include Kutub Uddin\u2019s capture of elegant slime molds, Loren Elliott\u2019s portfolio featuring the coyotes of San Francisco, and Amelie Davis\u2019 portrait of a bee coming in for a landing on a flower in Surrey, England, in the 10 and Under category. \u201cThis year\u2019s winning photographs demonstrate the extraordinary power of wildlife photography to help us see nature differently,\u201d says Dr. Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum. \u201cTogether 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 65,403 entries from photographers in 121 countries, this year\u2019s competition saw the largest turnout of submissions in its 62-year history. Categories run the gamut of photojournalism, wetlands, plants and fungi, behavior, portfolios, youth categories, and more. The 100 top images from this year\u2019s contest go on view tomorrow, October 16, at the Natural History Museum<\/a> in London, where they\u2019ll be exhibited through July 11, 2027. <\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Francisco Negroni (Chile), \u201cWarning Sign.\u201d Winner, Photojournalism category. The photographer captures this scene of a dead puma amid the rugged, windswept beauty of Argentine Patagonia<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>Kutub Uddin (Bangladesh\/U.K.), \u201cTiny Dancers,\u201d from the \u2018Secret Worlds\u2019 portfolio. Winner, Portfolio Award. Fine threads, known as capillitium, emerge on the round, yellow-green bodies, which will eventually help disperse reproductive spores<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>James Lewin (U.K.), \u201cThe Meeting Place.\u201d Winner, Animals in their Environment category. A young bull elephant sprays a group of zebra as they congregate in the Kenyan Chyulu Hills<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Loren Elliott (U.S.), \u201cOn the Outskirts\u201d from the \u2018Wily Coyotes of San Francisco\u2019 portfolio. Winner, Photojournalist Story Award. A coyote pads along a trail in Bernal Heights Park, overlooking the city and bay of San Francisco<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Agorastos Papatsanis (Greece), \u201cShedding Light.\u201d Winner, Plants and Fungi category. Ultraviolet light reveals the glowing yellow stems of bonnet mushrooms growing from a decaying log<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Anton Sorokin (U.S.), \u201cProtective Pose.\u201d Winner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles category. A California newt lays its eggs as it clasps vegetation that already holds another newt\u2019s egg clutch<\/p>\n

\"an<\/a>Alex Visbal (Colombia), \u201cThe Great Divide.\u201d Winner, Wetlands: The Bigger Picture category. A single engineered line reshapes an entire wetland<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas (Germany), \u201cAfternoon Snack,\u201d from the \u2018Hidden Depths\u2019 portfolio. Winner, Rising Star Award. A robber fly impales a flesh fly with its needlelike mouthparts<\/p>\n

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Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federico Veronesi received the top honor of the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his poignant black-and-white…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":631764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[50,29382,111,139,69,147,406,61396],"class_list":["post-631763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-contests","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-photographer-of-the-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631763","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=631763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}