Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026: Sneak Peek at Exquisite Photos Submitted So Far

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is one of those contests I wait anxiously every year and I know that I’ll just love the photos. Now in its 62nd year, the Natural History Museum’s flagship contest has just dropped a preview of its 100 winning images for 2026. If this handful of early releases is any indication, October, when the winners will be announced, is going to be worth the wait.

This year’s pool was the biggest ever: 65,403 entries from photographers across 121 countries and territories. All of the photos were judged anonymously on creativity, originality, technical excellence, and the stories they tell. That last part matters more than people sometimes give it credit for. A technically perfect frame that says nothing doesn’t tend to get very far here.

The early images released give you a pretty good sense of the range of photos that photographers submitted. Ernest Porter captured the relationship between a rhino and an oxpecker, the small bird cleaning its bill against the rhino’s thick skin in soft afternoon light. It’s the kind of image where the more you look, the more you see.

[Related Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Wildlife Photography: Gear, Tips & Ethics]

Jack Crockford is one of the younger photographers in the competition. He got a swift silhouetted against an incoming plane at Heathrow, which is exactly the kind of juxtaposition that sounds like a happy accident until you realize how much patience that shot actually requires. And Allegra Hutton photographed a young leopard mid-chase, going after a squirrel up a tree in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Leopards are supposed to be dignified. This one, apparently, did not get the memo (and could end up in Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year as well).

Jury Chair Kathy Moran said pretty much what I thought when I saw this year’s entries: “Every year I think the entries to our competition can’t get any stronger… and every year I am proven wrong!”

The full 100 winning images go on display at the Natural History Museum in London from October 16, 2026 through July 11, 2027. The Grand Title winner and category champions will be announced at a ceremony on October 13, hosted by Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin, and streamed live on the museum’s YouTube channel.

The exhibition also ties into the Natural History Museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index. It tracks how much of a region’s natural biodiversity remains intact, now adopted as an official Global Biodiversity Framework indicator.

If you’re thinking about entering next year, the WPY63 competition opens October 19, 2026. Adults can submit up to 25 images for £35, photographers aged 26 and under enter free, and entrants from 114 countries across Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America are also eligible to enter for free. You’ll find more details on the contest website, and book your tickets here.

And now, enjoy the rest of this sneak peek while we wait for the full list of winners!

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