24 beautiful images from the World Nature Photography Awards 2026

Off the coast of Tonga, a rare white humpback whale swims closely alongside its mother. Photographer Jono Allen caught the extraordinary moment in a photograph (seen below) that just earned top honors at the World Nature Photography Awards 2026.

“Sharing this moment with Mãhina and her protective mother is a memory that will live with me forever,” Allen said in a statement. “It was undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary days I have ever experienced in the ocean-and perhaps ever will. To be announced WorldNature Photographer of the Year through capturing this unique mother and calf bond has made what was already a truly life-changing encounter even more profound and humbling. I feel beyond honoured to receive this award.”

two whales, one white and one black, swim together — **“Mãhina”**
Location: Vava’u, Tonga
World Nature Photographer of the Year
*Credit: Jono Allen / World Nature Photography Awards*

Thousands of images from 51 countries on six continents entered this year’s competition that celebrate the wonder and fragility of our planet. Prints of the images can be purchased through the WPNA online store. (Click to expand images to full screen.)

a gorilla examines an orange butterfly — **“Shared Wonder”**
Location: Bwindi, Uganda
Gold, Animal Portraits
*Credit: Mary Schrader / World Nature Photography Awards* Mary Schrader

a mother cub carries her cub in her mouth — **“Determination”**
Location: Mara North Conservancy, Kenya
Bronze, Animal Portraits
*Credit: Elizabeth Yicheng / World Nature Photography Awards* Elizabeth Yicheng Shen

penguins gather on a glacier — **“Between the Cracks”**
Location: Near Elephant Island, Antarctica
Bronze, Animals in their habitat
*Credit: Harry Skeggs / World Nature Photography Awards*

Brown bear trying to catch sockeye salmon — **“Splash”**
Location: Katmai National Park, Alaska
Gold, Animals in their habitat
*Credit: Charlie Wemyss-Dunn / World Nature Photography Awards*

tigers chasing each other in water — **“Tigers cross the lake in fog”**
Location: Rathembhore National Park,India
Silver, Animals in their habitat
*Credit: Jonathan Hodgetts / World Nature Photography Awards*

a zebra faces off with a crocodile — **“Last Look”**
Location: Mara River in Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya
Silver, Behaviour – Amphibians and reptiles
*Credit: Roman Balaz / World Nature Photography Awards* svec

woodpecker with chips of tree flying — **“Home Building”**
Location: Anand, Gujarat, India
Bronze, Behaviour – Birds
*Credit: Hemin Patel / World Nature Photography Awards*

close up of bee face — **“The Nectar Drop”**
Location: Castellón de la Plana, Spain
Bronze, Behaviour – Invertebrates
*Credit: Eduardo Salvador Cabrera / World Nature Photography Awards* adriandinsdale

a whale breeching — **“Chasing Tail”**
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Bronze, Behaviour – Mammals
*Credit: Paul Goldstein / World Nature Photography Awards* PAUl Goldstein

a polar bear putting its head in its paw — **“Shy But Still Majestic”**
Location: Svalbard, Norway
Silver, Black and white
*Credit: Ross Wheeler / World Nature Photography Awards*

**“The Wildlife Photographer”**
Location: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Gold, People and nature
This is a true wildlife photographer. He obviously understands the importance of camouflage both on himself and his camera gear to blend in with his surroundings. As he prepares to take his photo, he takes a solid stance and carefully places his eye at the viewfinder. He waits patiently as his subject comes into clear view. This is the story of The Wildlife Photographer. After an evening snowfall in the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA, the photographers woke up to a blanket of snow covering the flats. A group of photographers were photographing this bull moose eating his way in our direction. The bland bitter brush bored him and he decided to go on his walkabout in the direction of all the photographers. We quickly moved but, in all the haste, a tripod and camera ended up being left behind. After his curiosity got the best of him, the bull moose decided to check out the camera gear. He licked and played with the camera looking at it as if he was trying to take a photograph. It was then I took this photo. After he knocked the gear over, he got bored and continued on his way. Then camera gear could be safely retrieved, albeit with a bunch of moose drool on it.
*Credit: Deena Sveinsson / World Nature Photography Awards*

Elephants, Mokete Camp, Wilderness Destinations, Okavango Delta, Botswana, Photos by Bill Klipp All photos © Bill Klipp, not for Commercial Use of any type, for personal use only. World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) 2026: Category - People and Nature -- Winner https://www.worldnaturephotographyawards.com/ Pool Party at Our Tent Mokete Camp located the Mababe Depression region of Botswana’s Okavango Delta has huge numbers of Elephants. Almost every day at Camp a group of Elephants would wander by for a drink out of our plunge pool. — **“Pool Party at Our Tent”**
Location: Okavango Delta, Botswana
Silver, People and nature
*Credit: Bill Klipp / World Nature Photography Awards* LRTimelapse 7.1.0 (Windows) – licensed to Bill Klipp, – Private License, no commercial use allowed!

four rhinos — **“The Rugby Players”**
Location: Solio Game Reserve, Kenya
Bronze, Black and white
*Credit: Preeti and Prashant Chacko / World Nature Photography Awards* Preeti John

a polar bear near pile of garbage — **“Trash Trail Temptations”**
Locations: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Gold, Urban wildlife
*Credit: Robert Gloeckner / World Nature Photography Awards* ROBERT

moths in foreground, bridge in background — **“Illusion of Light”**
Location: Danube, Budapest
Silver, Behaviour – Invertebrates
*Credit: Reka Baranyi / World Nature Photography Awards*

a sea turtle surrounded by tiny fish — **“Green Sea Turtle Surrounded by Glass Fish”**
Location: Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
Bronze, Underwater
*Credit: Aimee Jan / World Nature Photography Awards* Aimee Jan

Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) A remote temple complex in India, enshrining the Tiger Goddess and visited by hundreds of devotees each day, is also visited regularly by wild sloth bears from the surrounding hills for scavenging the left overs by the daytime crowd. I found the bear passing by the static statue of the tiger kind of surreal. Children in India are told bedtime stories of bears and tigers in the forest. I wanted to freeze a frame of this wild bear passing the tiger statue (which accompanies the Tiger Goddess) connecting to the bedtime tales of my childhood. Junwani Kala, Chattisgarh, India Nikon Z6II; Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S; 1/200 sec; f2.8; ISO 8000 — **“Bear at the Tiger Temple”**
Location: Junwani Kala, Chattisgarh, India
Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) A remote temple complex in India, enshrining the Tiger Goddess and visited by hundreds of devotees each day, is also visited regularly by wild sloth bears from the surrounding hills for scavenging the left overs by the daytime crowd. I found the bear passing by the static statue of the tiger kind of surreal. Children in India are told bedtime stories of bears and tigers in the forest. I wanted to freeze a frame of this wild bear passing the tiger statue (which accompanies the Tiger Goddess) connecting to the bedtime tales of my childhood.
Bronze, Urban wildlife
*Credit: Rajarshi Banerji / World Nature Photography Awards*

penguins swimming — **“What Lies Beneath”**
Location: Port Charcot, Antarctica
Silver, Underwater
*Credit: Matthew Sharp / World Nature Photography Awards*

The Namib desert is one of the most extreme environments on earth, with a complete lack of surface water and temperatures exceeding 45C in the daytime. Despite this, life is abundant of you know where to look. Sandstorms are frequent, with wind blowing down from inland mountains that stir up fine sediment and particles. A Namaqua chameleon has to endure the sting of pebbles blowing against its skin while we were lucky enough to escape to the relative comfort of our 4x4 — **“Stoicism in a Sandstorm”**
Location: Namib desert, Swakopmund, Namibia
The Namib desert is one of the most extreme environments on earth, with a complete lack of surface water and temperatures exceeding 45C in the daytime. Despite this, life is abundant of you know where to look. Sandstorms are frequent, with wind blowing down from inland mountains that stir up fine sediment and particles. A Namaqua chameleon has to endure the sting of pebbles blowing against its skin while we were lucky enough to escape to the relative comfort of our 4×4
Gold, Behaviour – Amphibians and reptiles
*Credit: Dewald Tromp / World Nature Photography Awards* NAGT_PHOTO

a giraffe flings water — **“Water Ballet”**
Location: Boteti River, Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana
Gold, Behaviour – Mammals
*Credit: Vaidehi Chandrasekar / World Nature Photography Awards* VC

tortoise on a log — **“Sunbathing”**
Location: Madison, Alabama, USA
Gold, Black and white
*Credit: Christopher Baker / World Nature Photography Awards*

white owl photographed from below — **“Eye on the prize”**
Location: Norfolk, England
Silver, Behaviour – Birds
*Credit: Vince Burton / World Nature Photography Awards* Vince Burton

“As the awards continue to grow, so too does the diversity and quality of work submitted from across the globe,” Adrian Dinsdale, co-founder of the World Nature Photographer Awards, said in a statement. “This year’s winning images are a powerful reminder of both the wonder of our planet and the importance of protecting it. We congratulate Jono and all of our category winners on their outstanding achievements.”

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