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Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 awards

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2026-10-19 05:43 UTC → 2026-10-19 18:23 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Italian photographer Federico Veronesi was awarded the grand prize at the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for his black-and-white photograph, ‘The Aftermath’. The image, captured in Namibia’s Huab River Valley, depicts a female elephant carrying a deceased ~~calf.~~ calf between her trunk and tusks. Jury president Kathy Moran praised the photograph for its emotional depth and its illustration of complex social and emotional elephant ~~behaviors, such as maintaining contact with deceased group members.~~ behaviors. While the image appears to show maternal grief, ~~researchers~~ conservationists from Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) noted that the 14-year-old elephant ~~had previously been~~ is not the biological mother of the calf. Researchers observed ~~carrying~~ that she has carried stillborn calves belonging to other ~~females.~~ mothers on four separate occasions, a behavior suggesting complex cognition and emotional depth. The competition, organized by the Natural History Museum in London, saw a record 65,403 entries from 121 countries. Other honors included the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, given to Zimbabwe-based photographer Oscar Whitfield for his image ‘Labour of ~~Love’.~~ Love’, which depicts a dung beetle. Additionally, Amelie Davis, a British photographer, won the category for ages 10 and under with a smartphone image of a bumblebee in Surrey, England. The winning photographs are scheduled to be featured in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, opening on October 16.

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