“People’s Choice Winner Announced for Wildlife Photographer of the Year”
Filmogaz.com reports the People’s Choice winner for the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year has been revealed. The public chose the top picture from more than 60,000 entries.
Winning image
The chosen photograph shows a young Iberian lynx tossing a rodent in Ciudad Real, Spain. Josef Stefan, from Austria, shot the image titled “Flying Rodent”.
The encounter lasted around 20 minutes before the lynx took its prey behind a bush to eat. Conservation work has helped the Iberian lynx rebound from near extinction in the early 2000s to a population above 2,000.
Public runners-up
- Beauty Against the Beast by Alexandre Brisson, Switzerland. A group of flamingos contrasts with power lines at a bird sanctuary in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
- Family Rest by Christopher Paetkau, Canada. A mother polar bear and three cubs rest along the Hudson Bay coast during summer.
- Dancing in the Headlights by Will Nicholl, UK. Two young bear cubs silhouette and play-fight on a quiet road in Jasper National Park, Canada.
- Never-ending Struggle by Kohei Nagira, Japan. A sika deer carries the severed, interlocked head of a rival after a fight on Notsuke Peninsula, Hokkaido.
Shortlist and exhibition
A panel of judges created a shortlist of 24 images for the public vote. The main competition winners were announced earlier in October.
The People’s Choice winner and the four highly commended images will appear on voting screens at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in London. The display runs until it closes on 12 July, and the top picture will also hang alongside the main competition winners.
