PICTURES: These incredible wildlife photos will leave you speechless
· Citizen
These images offer just a sneak peek at the exceptional photographs selected for the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
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Chosen from a record-breaking 65 403 entries submitted by photographers from 121 countries and territories, they provide an early glimpse of the 100 winning images that celebrate the beauty, diversity and vulnerability of the natural world.
The category winners, along with the overall Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year, will be announced on 13 October 2026 at an awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
Pictures courtesy of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year
(For best view, click on image for fullscreen)
A polar bear looks down into a seal hole drilled into the ice in the Arctic sea ice north of Svalbard, Norway. Highly Commended, Animal Portraits. Picture: Audun Rikardsen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A mosquito drinks a venemous viper’s blood. Highly Commended, Animal Portraits. Picture: Andrea and Maceo Grammatico/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A flock of birds descend to quench their thirst at a small pond in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. Highly Commended, Behavior: Birds. Picture: Bence Mate/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An African babul butterfly gets out of the way of an attack from an African bullfrog just in time. Shot in Botswana. Highly Commended, Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles. Picture: Jens Cullmann/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A black bear stops for a dip in a southern California pool. Highly Commended, Urban Wildlife. Picture: Loren Elliott/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An oxpecker cleans its bill against a rhino’s skin in the soft afternoon light in South Africa. Highly Commended, Behavior: Birds. Picture: Ernest Porter/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An adult orca carries a deceased calf off the coast of Norway. Highly Commended, Behavior: Mammals. Picture: Vegard Byrkjeland Aasen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A chameleon battles a sandstorm in the Namib Desert. Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment. Picture: Dewald Tromp/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A low-flying swift mirrors an incoming plane to Heathrow Airport. Highly Commended in the 15-17 Years category. Picture: Jack Crockford/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A school of bigeye trevally in the Seychelles. Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture. Picture: Shane Gross/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A muzzled brown bear rides a motorcycle at a circus in Doha. Highly Commended, Photojournalism. Picture: Pietro Rojas/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A black vulture stands on the carcass of a yacare caiman in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands. Highly Commended, Animal Portraits. Picture: Andrew Parkinson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
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