Online voting has now opened for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026.
The shortlist consists of 24 incredible images, which were chosen from over 60,000 entries worldwide. The images were selected by the Natural History Museum, London, and a judging panel of photography, wildlife, conservation and science experts.
From a rare pseudo-melanistic tiger to young bear cubs play-fighting caught in the beam of headlights, the photos highlight the vulnerability, beauty and power of our planet’s wildlife.
You can vote online on the Natural History Museum’s website or via digital screens in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London. Voting closes on Wednesday 18 March 2026.
The winning image, as well as the four runners-up, will be announced on Wednesday 25 March 2026.
Wildlife photographer of the year people's choice nominees
Portrait of Extinction, Adam Oswell
A pile of confiscated snares lies behind Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers. The snares had been confiscated over a one-year period in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Adam joined several rangers and community volunteers to build it. They wanted to show the scale and urgency of the snare crisis in Africa. It took a week to build. - Adam Oswell / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
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. - Alexandre Brisson / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Couple’s Camouflage, Artur Tomaszek
A tiny male sits on the abdomen of a well-camouflaged female broad-headed bark spider, waiting until she moults and is ready to mate. Artur encountered these broad-headed bark spiders in Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area, Phuket, Thailand. They’re so well camouflaged against the tree bark that Artur found it hard to see them in the daytime and had to find them on their web at night first. Then he came back during the day and searched nearby tree branches to get the photograph. - Artur Tomaszek / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Swirling Superpod, Cecile Gabillon
Cecile was free-diving in the Pacific Ocean, near Costa Rica, when she came across these spinner dolphins. They were herding lanternfish and guiding them towards the surface. Cecile was swimming so hard to keep up with them that it was almost impossible to take pictures. And her fisheye lens wasn’t wide enough to take in the full scene. She says that being surrounded by these dolphins was one of the most amazing encounters of her life. - Cecile Gabillon / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A brushtail possum joey mirrors its mother climbing a branch while out foraging. Over a month, Charles set up a camera trap on this branch in Miena, Tasmania. This mother and large joey visited often. Most nights they were just moving through, foraging for fresh leaf buds, insects or anything else they could eat. - Charles Davis / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Along for the Ride, Chris Gug
Against the darkness of the night-time sea, a juvenile swimming crab hitches a ride on a jellyfish. Chris spotted this scene while scuba diving at night in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The relationship between the crab and the jellyfish is not clearly understood and for Chris, the scene offered more questions than answers. - Chris Gug / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A mother polar bear and her three cubs pause peacefully in the summer heat – but 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. - Christopher Paetkau / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A leucistic otter feeds on a catfish in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. On holiday in the southern Pantanal, Daniela was keen to see the neotropical river otters that live in the Aquidauana River. After many boat trips, she spotted this otter feeding on a catfish. The unique otter often returned to this branch to feed. - Daniela Anger / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird shows off its long tail while it feeds on flowers. Dustin spent two weeks watching birds at Huembo Lodge in Pomacochas, Peru. This male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird was his main focus. In Dustin’s photo, the bird shows off its long tail while feeding on flowers. The spatuletail uses its impressive tail to attract females. - Dustin Chen / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A brown-throated three-toed sloth mother cradles her young in her arms to shelter it from the rain. Dvir observed this mother and her baby at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. They spent most of their time high up in the canopy. Downpours are common in the area. One afternoon, as the rain fell, the female nestled her young in her arms, sheltering it so it didn’t get too wet. This image shows the baby with its arms wrapped around its feet, asleep in its mother’s embrace. - Dvir Barkay / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This solar farm is in the land surrounding the hamlet of Cambridge in England, UK. The panels had to be carefully organised around the divisions between pastures and the result is a pattern that resembles the shapes of bodies of water. This image is part of a project to document the relationship between nature and industry along the River Severn, which flows near this solar farm. - Francesco Russo / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Flying Rodent, Josef Stefan
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. - Josef Stefan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Joseph spotted this nymph close to his front door in Ferndale, Michigan, USA. Ambush bugs are predatory and stay still, waiting to surprise prey that wanders too close. They use their powerful raptorial forelegs to grab the victim, then use their mouthparts to inject an immobilising venom. This venom also pre-digests the insides of the prey before the bugs slurp up their meal. - Joseph Ferraro / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Never-ending Struggle, Kohei Nagira
A sika deer carries the interlocked severed head of a rival male that had died after their battle. 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. - Kohei Nagira / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Bond in Motion, Lalith Ekanayake
The striking eyes of a curious lion-tailed macaque and its infant are on display as it races along a path. Lalith was exploring the city of Valparai in the Western Ghats, India. He was surprised to come face to face with these macaques. The mother raced towards Lalith, both pairs of eyes gazing forward, full of curiosity. - Lalith Ekanayake / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A pangolin pup nestles into the warmth of a blanket at a rescue centre in South Africa. Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked animals and this baby’s mother was a victim of poaching. But she was rescued and, against the odds, her baby was born. Shortly after, the mother died. - Lance van de Vyver / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
An elusive rufous-vented ground cuckoo plucks up a cicada in the depths of the rainforest in Costa Rica. Silent and sharp-eyed, it follows columns of army ants. It doesn’t want to feed on the ants, but on insects and small creatures fleeing the swarm. Here, it locks onto a cicada frozen in fear. This secretive predator is rarely seen and even more rarely photographed. It thrives in the chaos of the undergrowth and relies on split-second decisions and perfect timing. - Lior Berman / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Into the Furnace, Mogens Trolle
A sun bear shelters from the rain in a furnace as a butterfly settles on its snout. Mogens took this image in the Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. In recent years, sun bears have started visiting the campsites in the park, looking for an easy meal.A sign on the furnace says ‘Evolution’. Mogens says this is indeed a type of evolution – a wild animal’s opportunistic response to humans disturbing its natural habitat. - Mogens Trolle / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A polar bear cub looks into the camera as it accompanies its mother on an unsuccessful hunting trip on the coast of Svalbard archipelago. Soon after this photo was taken, the polar bear and its family went too close to an area of huts, and people forced them away. Not long after, the mother bear was found dead in the water near the shore. According to reports, she had died from serious internal injuries. Her cub was by her side. Police shot it dead because it seemed to be aggressive. This is likely the last image of the cub. - Nima Sarikhani / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A Leap into Adulthood, Peter Lindel
From April to July 2023, Peter observed and photographed a pair of common kestrels. He took this picture from his living room in Dortmund, Germany. It shows the moment when the young kestrels appear to be thinking about how to reach the beam, which was only 80 centimetres (31 inches) away. It took them nearly a week to pluck up the courage and take the leap. - Peter Lindel / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Ponlawat watched the sarus cranes and their chicks in the rice paddies in Huai Chorakhe Mak Non-Hunting Area in Buri Ram, Thailand. To avoid disturbing the birds, he would lay still for several hours a day while he watched. The parent of this one-week-old chick carefully cleaned it. Then, it made beak-to-beak contact and moved its beak around the chick’s for a while. - Ponlawat Thaipinnarong / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Dark Knight, Prasenjeet Yadav
Deep in Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, India, a tiger named T12 roams. It has pseudo-melanism, a rare genetic condition where the dark stripes are wider. At times they make the animal seem completely black. A decade ago, there were fewer than seven tigers left in the reserve and T12 was the only known male. Against all odds, he’s fathered new generations. Prasenjeet spent months tracking his trails and setting hidden camera traps. - Prasenjeet Yadav / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Thomas found this female cellar spider in the top corner of his sister’s room in their home in Southampton, England, UK. Upon closer inspection, he noticed it was carrying a ball of precious eggs in its mouth. He encouraged it onto a piece of wood to move it into the garage so it could safely raise its young. - Thomas Hunt / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Dancing in the Headlights, Will Nicholls
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. - Will Nicholls / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
