Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026: How to see this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year images online

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners have been announced. The images seemingly bring together remarkable photographs of animals in the wild. This year’s overall winning photograph captures a female elephant carrying a dead calf in Namibia.

The collection also includes a dung beetle at work in Zimbabwe and photographs from categories such as urban wildlife, underwater life and mammal behaviour. The inputs are taken from The BBC, The Guardian and PEOPLE.

How to see this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year images online

To see this year’s winning photographs, go to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year gallery hosted by London’s Natural History Museum. For readers who want to see the pictures for themselves, the Natural History Museum has an online gallery featuring winning images from the current and previous competitions.

The online collection lets visitors browse the winning images look at categories and see photos from past competitions. It also includes entries from the People’s Choice category.

The gallery is a place to begin for anyone who wants to see the photographs instead of just reading about them. Visitors can take their time walking through the space at their speed and come across images of many different animals, various natural habitats, and special moments in the wild.

The museum has also announced an exhibition that will showcase the 2026 winners. It will open on Friday, October 16 and will be on display until July 2027.

Which photograph won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026

Italian photographer Federico Veronesi won the overall title for his black-and-white photograph, The Aftermath.

The image shows a female elephant carrying a dead calf through Namibia’s Huab River Valley. Veronesi was tracking elephants when he spotted unusual drag marks in the sand of a dry riverbed. Following the tracks led him to the elephant carrying the calf, with one of its legs caught between her tusk and trunk.

According to the BBC, Veronesi initially believed the calf belonged to the female. Researchers later determined that she had lost her own calf years earlier and had been picking up dead calves belonging to other females.

Reflecting on the photograph, Veronesi told the BBC, “Of all the 20 years I’ve done photographing animals, this is the most heart-wrenching and fascinating and dramatic,” adding, “[The photo is] revealing of the depth and complexity of the emotions, the feelings of the animals.”

Competition Chair Kathy Moran also praised the image, saying, “This photograph works on so many levels. Emotionally it’s a gut punch, heartbreakingly poignant. Intellectually, it’s proof that animals have cognition. This photograph says it all.”

Who won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award

British photographer Oscar Whitfield won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 title with Labour of Love, a photograph of a dung beetle pushing its load across dusty ground in Zimbabwe’s Zambezi National Park.

Whitfield, who won the 11–14 age category, shared his reaction on Instagram. “I’m incredibly grateful to have been named Junior Wildlife Photographer of the Year … Wildlife photography has become a huge part of my life, and to have my work recognized in this way is something I never expected.”

He added, “Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me along the way. I’m really grateful for this opportunity and excited to keep learning and improving as a photographer.”

This year marks the first time in the competition’s 62-year history that black-and-white photographs have won both the adult and young photographer top titles.