‘Heartbreakingly poignant’ image of an elephant carrying a dead calf wins major Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, and gives us an ‘insight into complex animal behaviour’ — here are the category winners

The winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition have been revealed, and the top prize goes to a 'heartbreakingly poignant' photo of elephant carrying a dead calf in Namibia, Africa.

California newt laying its eggs as it clasps vegetation that already holds another newt’s egg clutch / an elephant carrying a dead calf

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners announced
Federico Veronesi takes top prize with elephant carrying a dead calf photo
Winning photographs showcased at the Natural History Museum, London, from 16 October 2026

The winners of the 62nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year have been announced, and once again the selection gives us a fascinating insight into our planet's animal behaviour and evolving habitats.

A total of 19 young and adult category winners covered specific species and habitats, and the overall top prize has gone to the Behaviour: Mammals category winner Federic Veronesi, with his "heartbreakingly poignant" photo of an elephant carrying a dead calf, witnessed in Namibia, Africa, through a Nikon Z8 and 400mm f/2.8 lens.

Having personally witnessed a recently deceased elephant calf years back in Kenya's Masai Mara National Park, I can resonate with what Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury, Kathy Moran, said about the photo:

“Emotionally it’s a gut punch, heartbreakingly poignant. Intellectually it’s proof that animals have cognition. This photograph says it all!”

The contest further unpacks the image: "Behaviours centring on death have been observed in both Asian and African elephants, including vocalisations, guarding the dead, inspecting and handling bones, and carrying the deceased. Some researchers suggest these behaviours could indicate an elephant’s journey to understanding death, while others interpret these actions as possible displays of grief."

Witnessing such a moment in the flesh is something I'll never forget — the grief clearly weighed heavy on the motionless elephant herd, guarding the deceased, trunks drooped on the ground, and Federico's image of a female elephant emerging with a calf, its leg wedged between her tusk and trunk, brings that moment back for me.

An elephant carrying a dead calf, a rare glimpse into complex animal behaviours, in .the Huab River Valley, Damaraland, Namibia

I've included a selection of some of the winning images below, which will be on display along with the other winners in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, from 16 October 2026 until July 11 2027. Tickets can be purchased on the Natural History Museum site with prices starting at £8.50 (child) / £13.60 (concession) / £17 (adult).

I particularly appreciate the Natural Artistry category winner, for which photographer Michał Michalski intentionally used a slow shutter speed to capture goldfinches and bramblings taking to the sky, creating the illusion of trees still swathed in autumn foliage — really clever, and visually striking.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. This year's 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 36' book will be published on October 14 and costs £28.

WPOTY 2026 category winners

A dead puma strewn on a barbed wire fence amid the rugged, windswept beauty of Argentine Patagonia Ultraviolet light revealing the glowing yellow stems of beautiful bonnet mushrooms growing from a decaying log Goldfinches and bramblings, take to the sky, startled by a sparrowhawk, and a slow shutter speed creates the illusion of trees still swathed in autumn foliage A scorpion burrowing into one of the shifting dunes of the Thar Desert at night A common octopus behind a curtain of kelp in the waters off southwest England A coyotes roams the outskirts of San Francisco on the West Coast of the United States A single engineered line reshaping an entire wetland, waters perfectly still reflecting the mountainous backdrop A male blackbird singing in a vineyard early one April morning. A young bull elephant sprays a group of zebra as they congregate in the Kenyan Chyulu Hills. Aerial image of a whale shark investigating the catch of a ‘bagan’, or mobile net-fishing platform, in the inky waters off Papua The arduous exertion of a dung beetle pushing its precious cargo A California newt laying its eggs as it clasps vegetation that already holds another newt’s egg clutch Macro of a robber fly, consuming a fly with its needlelike mouthparts A dead puma strewn on a barbed wire fence amid the rugged, windswept beauty of Argentine Patagonia Ultraviolet light revealing the glowing yellow stems of beautiful bonnet mushrooms growing from a decaying log Goldfinches and bramblings, take to the sky, startled by a sparrowhawk, and a slow shutter speed creates the illusion of trees still swathed in autumn foliage A scorpion burrowing into one of the shifting dunes of the Thar Desert at night A common octopus behind a curtain of kelp in the waters off southwest England A coyotes roams the outskirts of San Francisco on the West Coast of the United States A single engineered line reshaping an entire wetland, waters perfectly still reflecting the mountainous backdrop A male blackbird singing in a vineyard early one April morning. A young bull elephant sprays a group of zebra as they congregate in the Kenyan Chyulu Hills. Aerial image of a whale shark investigating the catch of a ‘bagan’, or mobile net-fishing platform, in the inky waters off Papua The arduous exertion of a dung beetle pushing its precious cargo A California newt laying its eggs as it clasps vegetation that already holds another newt’s egg clutch Macro of a robber fly, consuming a fly with its needlelike mouthparts