Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 Winners Unveiled at Exhibition
Federico Veronesi wins grand title with an emotional elephant grief photograph.
1Top Honor for Elephant Grief
Italian photographer Federico Veronesi earned the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 title for an emotional shot taken in Namibia's Huab River Valley. He followed unusual sand drag marks across a dry riverbed, discovering a female elephant carrying a deceased calf wedged tightly between her trunk and tusk.
2Complex Elephant Social Bonds
Local researchers identified the adult female as an elephant that had lost her own calf years earlier. Scientists revealed she had a documented history of retrieving dead calves belonging to other females, showing deep emotional complexity rather than simple maternal instinct, highlighting profound grief dynamics across wild elephant herds.
3Recognizing Youth Photography Talent
Oscar Whitfield won the Young Grand Title by capturing a dung beetle pushing waste uphill in Zimbabwe at eye level. Meanwhile, ten-year-old Amelie Davis secured her category using a smartphone in her garden, freezing the single wingbeat of a common carder bumblebee landing on a flower.
4Climate Signals in UK Waters
Aaron Sanders documented a common octopus peeking through kelp in south-west England. Rising spring sea temperatures driven by global warming have triggered unprecedented octopus sightings in these historically colder British waters, illustrating how visual documentation tracks rapid geographical shifts in marine populations away from their native Mediterranean range.
5Capturing Elusive Marine Courtship
Photographer Wu documented what the Natural History Museum described as the likely first recorded courtship ritual of Abbott's moray eels. Working closely with marine biologists, Wu utilized dim red lighting alongside a customized fisheye lens to minimize environmental disturbance and prevent startling the sensitive mating pair.
6Human Wildlife Urban Coexistence
Loren Elliott won the Photojournalist Story Award by examining the estimated one hundred coyotes inhabiting San Francisco. Living closely alongside dense human populations, these urban predators generate mixed public reactions, as they occasionally prey on domestic pets while simultaneously providing critical ecological services by controlling disease-carrying rodent numbers.
7Documenting Industrial Environmental Degradation
Alex Visbal documented industrial transformation at Utah's Great Salt Lake, capturing vibrant pink hues caused by salt-tolerant microbes after artificial barriers severed freshwater flows. In Argentina, Negroni photographed a dead puma hunting trophy in Santa Cruz, proving illegal persecution persists despite a provincial hunting ban enacted in 2025.
8Exhibition Opens in London
The Natural History Museum will launch the annual exhibition on Friday, 16 October 2026. The curated collection emphasizes ethical field methodologies, macro ecosystems, and environmental changes, encouraging viewers to recognize wild animals as complex individuals with distinct memories, relationships, and vulnerabilities across shifting global landscapes.
Original article: BBC News — Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 Winners Unveiled at Exhibition