More than 12,000 striking images were submitted — including microscopic slime mould, a close-up of a bee and a glowing lobster — before the winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026 were announced.

Paul Hobson was chosen as this year’s grand prize winner for his inventive black and white image looking up at a toad kicking across a pond in Sheffield.

The Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 was awarded to Ben Lucas for his picture of a mute swan cygnet taking a nap on its sibling’s back. He said: “Nature can often be so cruel, but tender moments like this warm my heart.”

A black and white image of a toad swimming in a pond, creating ripples on the water's surface, with reflections of bare tree branches visible through the water.

The winning image, taken from the bottom of a pond surrounded by trees

PAUL HOBSON/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

A young mute swan cygnet sleeping on a dark, feathery surface.

The top picture in the young photographer category of a peacefully sleeping cygnet

BEN LUCAS/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

A Dipper bird standing on a mossy rock in a river with cascading water.

A dipper, so called for their bobbing or dipping movements, perches on a rock as water flows fast around it in the Derbyshire Dales

MARC HUMPHREY/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Slime Moulds and a Water Droplet, a winning photo in the Botanical Britain category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026.

A water droplet caught on slime mould creates an otherworldly insight into the microscopic world around us

BARRY WEBB/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2026

Pine marten standing on its hind legs on a mossy rock.

A pine marten, with its distinctive markings in perfect focus, is captured having spotted the photographer

ALASTAIR MARSH/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

A spiny squat lobster glowing neon green under UV light, on a red and pink coral reef.

A spiny squat lobster glows bright green during a night dive in Inveraray, Loch Fyne

JAMES LYNOTT/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Common frog tadpole inside a clear egg casing.

A snapshot of a common frog tadpole inside its clear egg. It still has its tail but has started to grow both sets of legs

JULIAN TERREROS-MARTIN/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

A red fox curled up and sleeping on the driver's seat of an orange tractor.

An opportunistic fox decided this alfresco driver’s seat was the perfect place for a nap in Gloucestershire

SIMON WITHYMAN/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Close-up of a leaf-cutter bee in a hole.

A brilliantly detailed portrait of a leafcutter bee looking out from the hole it has made as its nest

JAMIE SMART/BRITISH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS