Austrian photographer Josef Stefan has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2026, following a record 85,917 public votes from around the world.
Flying Rodent Josef Stefan (Austria) Winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026. A young Iberian lynx playfully throws a rodent into the air before killing and devouring it. Josef has wanted to photograph lynxes for a long time. He was delighted when the opportunity arose to spend two weeks observing them from a hide at Torre de Juan Abad, Ciudad Real, Spain. It’s common for young lynxes to play with their prey before killing it. This one repeatedly threw the rodent high in the air and caught it again. To Josef, it looked as if the rodent could fly. The whole game lasted about 20 minutes before the lynx got bored. It then took the rodent behind a bush and ate it.
His image, Flying Rodent, captures a playful Iberian lynx in Ciudad Real, Spain, tossing a rodent before carrying it behind a bush to eat.
He described the win as the highlight of his photographic career.
“The journey to take this image was more than just another photographic adventure. It was the pursuit of a dream: encountering the Iberian lynx, one of the rarest and most endangered wild cats in the world. Winning this award and being able to platform this message is the highlight of my 30 years as a nature photographer.”
“The Iberian lynx is a living symbol of hope, showing what can happen when we take responsibility, act consciously and focus our attention where it’s most needed.”
The award, run by the Natural History Museum, London selected Stefan’s photograph from 23 shortlisted images chosen out of 60,636 entries from 113 countries.
Family Rest Christopher Paetkau (Canada) Highly Commended in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026. A mother polar bear and her three cubs pause peacefully in the summer heat. This type of scene is getting rarer. The sun is high, the land wide and open. The polar bears rest after their long journey north along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada. Shrinking sea ice is making it harder for polar bears to hunt and find food to survive in summer. This is a story of endurance and a fleeting moment of hope in a world where survival is anything but certain.Never-ending Struggle Kohei Nagira (Japan) Highly Commended in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026. A sika deer carries the interlocked severed head of a rival male that had died after their battle. In autumn, male sika deer fight over females by clashing their antlers. This deer won the fight, but their antlers became tightly locked and wouldn’t come apart. A local fisherman says the deer dragged the whole body for several days before finally tearing off its head. Kohei observed the deer on Notsuke Peninsula in Hokkaido, Japan, from late November 2020 to April 2021. It was living alone, yet it continued to forage for grass and branches and managed to survive the winter. The image shows life and death bound together.
Four other highly commended images included flamingos against industrial power lines in Namibia, a mother polar bear with cubs in Canada, two bear cubs play-fighting on a road, and a sika deer carrying a rival’s severed head.
Dancing in the Headlights Will Nicholls (UK) Highly Commended in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026. A silhouetted pair of young bear cubs rear up and play-fight in the middle of a quiet road. Bears are a fairly frequent sight in Jasper National Park, Canada. But cubs are rarer, as mothers tend to keep them away from any threats. It’s an enchanting moment, but also a risky one for the playful young cubs silhouetted against the glow of car headlights. Framed by the darkness of the surrounding forest, the scene took on an almost theatrical feel for Will. When the lights aligned, he knew it was the image he was after.Beauty Against the Beast Alexandre Brisson (Switzerland) Highly Commended in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026. A group of flamingos stands out against a stark industrial backdrop of power lines. After a 10-hour drive, Alexandre arrived at this bird sanctuary in Walvis Bay, Namibia, just as the sun was setting. The smell from a nearby open-air dump was overwhelming, a sharp contrast to the beauty of the lesser flamingos. He waited for the right moment, hoping to capture them flying between the power lines. When two of them finally took off, their graceful flight stood out against the backdrop. The image shows how even spaces meant to protect wildlife carry the signs of human expansion.
The winner and runners-up will be displayed in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in London until 12 July 2026, with Flying Rodent featured alongside the main competition winners.
