Italian photographer Federico Veronesi has won the overall title at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition for his poignant image, The Aftermath, showing a female elephant carrying her dead calf in Namibia. Organised by London’s Natural History Museum, the competition celebrates outstanding wildlife photography. Jury chair Kathy Moran described the image as deeply moving, highlighting its emotional impact and the insight it offers into animal cognition and behaviour.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026: Stunning winning images capture nature’s wonders
Explore 2026’s winning images, capturing wildlife moments and nature’s beauty
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2 MIN READ
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition celebrates the remarkable diversity of the natural world through extraordinary images capturing its beauty, complexity and challenges. This year’s winning photographs explore a range of subjects, from underwater ecosystems and urban wildlife to photojournalism and fascinating animal behaviour.
Escape Artistry by Michał Michalski of Poland, winner in the Natural Artistry category, uses a slow shutter speed to blur goldfinches and bramblings taking flight above a sunflower field, creating the illusion of autumn foliage among bare birch trees.
The Great Divide by Alex Visbal of Colombia, winner in the Wetlands: The Bigger Picture category, reveals how human intervention and water diversions have altered Utah’s Great Salt Lake, where pink hues reflect extreme salinity.
A Watchful Eye by UK photographer Aaron Sanders, winner in the Animal Portraits category, captures a common octopus peering through kelp off Cornwall, creating an intimate moment of curiosity between diver and marine life.
The Meeting Place by UK photographer James Lewin, winner in the Animals in their Environment category, captures a young bull elephant spraying zebras gathered at a waterhole in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills. Infrared photography creates a dreamlike effect, softening the harsh light.
Afternoon Snack by German photographer Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, winner of the Rising Star Award, captures a robber fly feeding on a flesh fly in extraordinary detail, revealing the intricate and often unseen behaviours of the insect world.
Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026
Secret Worlds by Kutub Uddin, winner of the Portfolio Award, explores the hidden beauty of slime moulds. The image Tiny Dancers captures an immature Cribraria aurantiaca in remarkable detail, revealing a tiny organism discovered in the woodlands of West Sussex.
Warning Sign by Chilean photographer Francisco Negroni, winner in the Photojournalism category, documents a dead puma displayed as a hunting trophy in Argentina’s Patagonia, highlighting the ongoing threat of illegal hunting and conflict between wildlife and livestock farmers.
Labour of Love by Oscar Whitfield, winner in the 11–14 Years category, captures a dung beetle pushing its precious cargo across dusty ground. The image highlights the beetle’s ecological role, as burying dung helps it decompose faster and reduces methane emissions.
Making Morays by Tony Wu of the US and Japan, winner in the Under Water category, captures the mating ritual of two Abbott’s moray eels off Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture. The rare image documents their spawning behaviour, offering valuable insights for scientific research.
Devadasan K P is the Chief Visual Editor at Gulf News, bringing more than 27 years of experience in photojournalism to the role. He leads the Visual desk with precision, speed, and a strong editorial instinct. Whether he’s selecting images of royalty, chasing the biggest celebrity moments in Dubai, or covering live events himself, Devadasan is always a few steps ahead of the action. Over the years, he has covered a wide range of major assignments — including the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, feature reportage from Afghanistan, the IMF World Bank meetings, and wildlife series from Kenya. His work has been widely recognised with industry accolades, including the Minolta Photojournalist of the Year award in 2005, the Best Picture Award at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2008, and a Silver Award from the Society for News Design in 2011. He handles the newsroom pressure with a calm attitude, a quick response time, and his signature brand of good-natured Malayali humour. There's no fuss — just someone who gets the job done very well, every single time.
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