We are absolutely delighted to announce our 2026 winners. We are also thrilled to give the title of World Nature Photographer of the Year to Jono Allen for his image ‘Mãhina’ Many congratulations to all of our winners!

Underwater

JONO ALLEN, australia - Gold WINNer and grand prize of WORLD NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Captured in the tropical waters of Vava’u, Tonga, this rare white humpback calf - named Mãhina, meaning “moon” in Tongan - glowed like a beam of light as she travelled through the deep blue water with her protective mother. With only 1 in 40,000 humpbacks born with this lack of pigmentation, her presence was not only breathtaking but symbolic. Watching this spectacular and curious moon white whale calf play and roll through the water represents the remarkable success story of a species given the chance to recover after being heavily targeted by whaling and once being brought to the brink of extinction. Considering the resilience of this awe-inspiring species, sightings of such rare individuals renews hope in what can happen when conservation is championed and wildlife is allowed to thrive. Mãhina is a living reminder of what is possible when conservation works - a species once on the brink, now rebounding.

bronze: AIMEE JAN, AUSTRALIA

Animal portraits

gold: mary schrader, USA

It was a day defined by quiet connections. Beneath the lush canopy of Bwindi, I observed a young female gorilla gently nestled against the protective bulk of a silverback. The atmosphere was serene, filled with gentle sounds of the forest, until a sudden burst of delicate color broke through the calm. An unexpected visitor, a vibrant butterfly, appeared out of nowhere, fluttering gently through the air. Captivated, the young gorilla's eyes widened, and in that moment, a beautiful interaction unfolded as a silent, shared wonder between two vastly different beings. I held my breath, hoping the butterfly would drift ever closer, bringing the unlikely pair into a shared world of curiosity. My heart raced quietly, aware of how rare and precious these moments are. As the butterfly danced gracefully around the gorilla, it seemed to embody the delicate beauty and fragile interconnectedness of our natural world. This photograph captures not just the gorilla's gentle curiosity but also a brief, beautiful moment where two creatures paused, noticing each other, bound by wonder and discovery.

Behaviour - Mammals

GOLD: Vaidehi Chandrasekar, singapore

As the sun dipped low over the dry Makgadikgadi landscape in Botswana, a lone giraffe stepped to the water’s edge. Towering and graceful, it bent its long legs, lowering its neck for a drink. Then came a moment of magic. Having taken its fill, the giraffe lifted its head - and with a gentle swish, expelled a stream of water in an arc that shimmered in the golden light. The droplets danced in the air, forming a near-perfect circle before falling back to the earth. With the animal's outline enhanced by the rim lighting, golden reflections sparkled off the airborne water. A rare and fleeting behaviour, made unforgettable by the setting sun. My desire was to capture the interplay of the golden light and the motion of the swishing of the water.

bronze: paul goldstein, United Kingdom

Behaviour - Amphibians and reptiles

Gold: dewald tromp, south africa

The Namib desert is one of the most extreme environments on earth, with a complete lack of surface water and temperatures exceeding 45C in the daytime. Despite this, life is abundant of you know where to look. Sandstorms are frequent, with wind blowing down from inland mountains that stir up fine sediment and particles. A Namaqua chameleon has to endure the sting of pebbles blowing against its skin while we were lucky enough to escape to the relative comfort of our 4x4.

Behaviour - Invertebrates

GOLD: minghui yuan, china

In the tropical rainforest of Xishuangbanna, I found a moss moth larva creating a protective net nest on newly grown tender leaves of plants. Moss moth larvae bite off their toxic hair like structures and use their sticky saliva to build their own houses. It uses its own poisonous fur as building material, which can resist attacks from parasitic wasps and ants. In the net nest, the moss moth larvae form some very thin and difficult to see silk, hanging themselves in the air as if they were lying in a hammock. Subsequently, the moth larvae molt and transform into pupae. In the next few months, the moss moth pupae will wait for metamorphosis. The last moss moth will emerge from the net nest and hatch. Moss moth larvae are like architects, and the intricate structure of the net nest is full of geometric beauty, astonishing the extraordinary creativity of small creatures.

Behaviour - Birds

GOLD: fenqiang liu, usa

Each spring, great egrets gather at Kraft Azalea Garden in Central Florida to nest high in the trees. Photographing from below, I look for moments when backlight reveals the elegance and structure of their wings in flight. I captured this image on an early April morning, as an egret passed between me and the sun just before landing.

People and nature

gold: Deena Sveinsson, usa

After an evening snowfall in the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA, the photographers woke up to a blanket of snow covering the sage flats. It was a relatively slow and boring morning watching the many bull moose eat their morning breakfast of bitter brush. A group of us photographers were photographing the bull moose eating his way in our direction. He would eat for about 10 minutes and then take a few steps only to start eating again. At some point, the bland bitter brush bored him and he decided to go on his walkabout. But he decided to do his walkabout in the direction of all the photographers. We quickly moved away to give the moose his space but, in all the haste, a tripod and camera ended up being left behind. At first the bull moose ignored the gear and started to thrash his antlers on the bitter brush. After his curiosity got the best of him, the bull moose decided to check out the camera gear. 

GOLD: duncan wood, Scotland, united kingdom

Golden autumn colours explode in this intimate portrait of an incredible, lichen-laden elder birch in full seasonal display — bold, brilliant, and full of character, like a woodland peacock. Taken in Glen Affric, this image captures a fleeting moment of drama and beauty from one of Scotland’s most vibrant autumn landscapes.

Nature art

gold: simon biddie, united kingdom

Small reef fish, unassuming and often unseen, contribute to 70% of the fish biomass, making them a critical part of reef food chains. Small fish, like many of their land-based insect equivalents, evade predators by being experts in hiding. These small reef fish are also known as ‘cryptobenthic’ fish – crypto as they hide in crevices, or use camouflage. As part of the food chain, they are important in supporting larger fish found in these reefs. Of these class of fish, the gobies are thought to be the most important. This photograph of a ghost goby shows how adept at hiding these small fish can be. Growing to about 2 cm long, they are well adapted to camouflage amongst coral. With their transparent bodies, fins with suction for firm grip, and low set gills to hide any movement, they try to evade their predators. In the meantime, their large, angled eyes are on the lookout for plankton.

Planet Earth’s landscapes and environments

gold: miki spitzer, israel

This is a drone photo of a natural geothermal pool in central Iceland at Hveravellir. In the photo, you can see the pool, which I think looks like a dragon's eye.

Black and white

GOLD: christopher baker, usa

An adult pond slider turtle perched atop a stump bathing in the early morning sun.  I lay on the ground to get a low angle perspective of the scene and converted to black and white to enhance the textures of the turtle’s shell and skin, as well as the stump.  

Animals in their habitat

gold: charlie wemyss-dunn, united kingdom

A hungry brown bear launches headlong into a creek in Alaska's Katmai National Park to try to catch one of the many sockeye salmon spawning in large numbers during their seasonal migration. Each August, large concentrations of brown bears gather along the rivers and creeks in Katmai, waiting for the annual arrival of salmon from the coast. I observed this scene after a two-hour walk from our camp from atop a cliff. I positioned myself at the cliff's edge to get a unique perspective looking down on the action below and used a polarizing filter to cut any glare from the water's surface. As the hungry predator approached the water, I used a fast shutter burst to freeze the moment when two nearby salmon dart away in diagonals from the outstretched claws of the diving bear. 

Urban wildlife

gold: robert gloeckner, usa

In this striking image, a polar bear in Churchill, Manitoba, investigates a heap of discarded electronics and household items - part of a growing and very human-made trash trail that’s reshaping how wildlife interacts with civilization. In 2024, the town's only trash facility burned to the ground. The incident underscored a growing concern: polar bears were increasingly scavenging garbage during the ice-free months, leading to a rise in human-wildlife conflicts. As sea ice forms later and melts earlier each year due to climate change, bears spend more time on land with fewer natural hunting opportunities. This prompts them to explore new food sources, no matter how artificial. This photo captures more than a curious bear, it symbolises the ongoing struggle between wilderness and waste. The “trash trail” leading from human settlements to the Arctic’s most iconic predator is not just a path of garbage.

Nature photojournalism

GOLD: alain schroeder, belgium

Kayla, a 37-year-old 61.2 kg female, in the procedure room and her stomach shaved for an ultrasound. Socks have been placed on his extremities, and a fur hat with flaps on his head to avoid hypothermia. General caption Founded in 1997, Save the Chimps is the largest privately funded chimpanzee sanctuary in the world. Its mission is to provide a safe haven to captive chimps that have been exploited by humans for research, testing and entertainment. The 150-acre state-of-the-art facility in Florida is home to over 220 rescued chimpanzees living their best possible lives among peers, thanks to a team of passionate veterinarians, caretakers and volunteers who provide personalized care, and nutritious individual feeding and enrichment plans, in a spacious island habitat. The sanctuary is working tirelessly to welcome all captive chimpanzees across the United States who need refuge and expert loving care for the rest of their lives. 

To see last year’s winners, click here.