Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 Reveals 100 Winning Images

The Natural History Museum, London, has unveiled a preview of 100 winning images from its Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition, marking the contest's 62nd year. The full exhibition opens at the museum on Friday, October 16, 2026, where category winners, the Grand Title, and Young Grand Title awards will be announced. This year's competition attracted a record-breaking 65,000+ entries from 121 countries and territories, judged anonymously on creativity, originality, technical skill, and storytelling. Notable Highly Commended images include Audun Rikardsen's "Icy Window," depicting a polar bear peering through Arctic sea ice from a seal's perspective, and Jens Cullmann's "Split-Second Escape," capturing an African bullfrog lunging at a butterfly. Other highlights include Ernest Porter's "Mutual Friends," showing an oxpecker cleaning its bill on a rhino, and Allegra Hutton's "Up a Tree without a Squirrel," a leopard chasing a squirrel in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Dr. Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, emphasized that the photographs remind viewers of what is at stake and worth protecting in nature. The exhibition runs through Sunday, July 11, 2027, at the museum's location on Cromwell Road, South Kensington.