Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winner features elephant in Namibia

Federico Veronesi’s photograph, ‘The Aftermath’, has been named the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. The image, captured in the Huab River valley of Namibia, depicts a female elephant carrying a deceased calf between her trunk and tusks.

While the scene initially appeared to show maternal grief, conservationists from Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) noted that the 14-year-old elephant is not the biological mother of the calf. She has been observed carrying the stillborn calves of other mothers on four separate occasions, a behavior that researchers suggest demonstrates complex cognition and emotional depth in elephants.

The competition, organized by the Natural History Museum in London, received a record 65,403 entries from 121 countries. The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award was presented to Oscar Whitfield for his photograph of a dung beetle, ‘Labour of Love’. The winning images are scheduled for exhibition at the Natural History Museum starting in October.