An image of an elephant carrying its dead calf through a dry riverbed in Namibia has won the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
A powerful moment of an elephant carrying a dead calf, a rare glimpse into complex animal behaviors. Winner of the Behavior: Mammals category and Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. | Photo by Federico Veronesi / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Italian photographer Federico Veronesi captured the scene while tracking elephants in the Huab River Valley. He first noticed unusual drag marks in the sand before locating a family group and discovering a female carrying the calf, whose leg was caught between her tusk and trunk.
The photograph documents a rarely witnessed aspect of elephant behaviour. Both African and Asian elephants have been observed interacting with deceased members of their species, including touching and inspecting bodies, guarding the dead and carrying them.
Scientists continue to investigate what these behaviours mean. Some researchers believe they may reflect an understanding of death, while others suggest they could be expressions of grief.
The competition’s Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 was announced as Oscar Whitfield, a young British photographer residing in Zimbabwe.
A dung beetle pushes its precious cargo. Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. | Photo by Oscar Whitfield / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The winning image, 'Labour of Love’, captures the arduous exertion of a dung beetle pushing its precious cargo. Using a fast shutter speed and high light sensitivity, Oscar lay flat on the ground to photograph the beetle at eye level, with the sunshine and heat creating dry dust all around him.
The competition, now in its 62nd year, recognises outstanding wildlife photography from around the world, highlighting animal behaviour, natural environments and the pressures facing the natural world.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition opens at London's Natural History Museum on 16 October 2026 and runs until 11 July 2027. The exhibition will subsequently tour the UK and internationally.
A Watchful Eye. A common octopus peers out from behind kelp off southwest England. Photo by Aaron Sanders / Wildlife Photographer of the YearShedding Light. Ultraviolet light reveals the fluorescent stems of bonnet mushrooms in Greece. Photo by Agorastos Papatsanis / Wildlife Photographer of the YearNight-Time Catch. A whale shark investigates a fishing platform in the waters off Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Alex Lindbloom / Wildlife Photographer of the YearThe Great Divide. A causeway divides the waters of Utah's Great Salt Lake. Photo by Alex Visbal / Wildlife Photographer of the YearHidden Depths. A robber fly feeds on a flesh fly in an extreme macro photograph. Photo by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas / Wildlife Photographer of the YearProtective Pose. A California newt lays eggs among aquatic vegetation. Photo by Anton Sorokin / Wildlife Photographer of the YearWarning Sign. A dead puma is displayed as a hunting trophy in Argentine Patagonia. Photo by Francisco Negroni / Wildlife Photographer of the YearScenes from the Swamp. Two shoebill storks gather vegetation in a Ugandan wetland. Photo by Isak Pretorius / Wildlife Photographer of the YearThe Meeting Place. A young bull elephant sprays zebras at a waterhole in Kenya. Photo by James Lewin / Wildlife Photographer of the YearBirdsong Painted in Light. A male blackbird sings in a vineyard in Germany. Photo by Konrad Gräeter / Wildlife Photographer of the YearSecret Worlds. Slime moulds reveal intricate details in a miniature woodland world. Photo by Kutub Uddin / Wildlife Photographer of the YearWily Coyotes of San Francisco. A coyote walks a trail overlooking the city and bay. Photo by Loren Elliott / Wildlife Photographer of the YearEscape Artistry. A flock of birds blurs against bare birch trees in Poland. Photo by Michał Michalski / Wildlife Photographer of the YearUrban Jungle. A common water monitor carries a fish in a Bangkok park. Photo by Seth Forestson / Wildlife Photographer of the YearShifting Sand. A scorpion burrows into the shifting dunes of India's Thar Desert. Photo by Sitaram Raul / Wildlife Photographer of the YearMaking Morays. Abbott's moray eels engage in a rarely documented mating ritual in Japan. Photo by Tony Wu / Wildlife Photographer of the YearFlight of the Bumblebee. A common carder bee hovers above a flower in southern England. Photo by Amelie Davis / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
