Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners exhibited at Natural History Museum The 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards feature images from glowing fungi to grieving elephants, now on display at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London. The 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards have been announced, with winning images ranging from thriving fungi to grieving elephants. The photographs are being exhibited at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, United Kingdom. Revealing Fungi Under Ultraviolet LightVisitors can walk through a visual narrative showcasing the breadth and depth of animal and environmental photography. One striking entry captures the bioluminescent beauty of a rare mushroom on a decaying log in Greece's Mount Olympus region. Emily Agorastos used ultraviolet light to reveal a vivid yellow fluorescence from the stems of beautiful bonnet mushrooms. On the lower slopes of Mount Olympus, Agorastos experimented with UV illumination until it revealed the strongest fluorescent response from these mushrooms.While humans cannot see UV light, we can get an inkling of its effect thanks to fluorescence. Mycologists are harnessing this phenomenon to distinguish closely related species of fungi by the colours and patterns they reveal under UV. The photograph shows a focus stack of 6 images taken with a Nikon D810 and Laowa 15mm f4 lens at 8.0 seconds, f20, ISO 400.In another piece, photographer Loren Miller presents a candid look at the lives of nearly a hundred urban coyotes that roam the suburbs of San Francisco. Around 100 of these urban-adapted wild canines live alongside more than 800,000 human inhabitants, and attitudes towards them are mixed. While coyotes sometimes prey on domestic animals, they also bring benefits such as controlling disease-carrying rodents. Miller invites us to reconsider our perceptions of these wild animals and their place in urban environments.Urban Coyotes and Hidden Slime MouldsThe portfolio uses a blend of body-cam footage and high-resolution stills. A third submission by Kandice Kutub immerses viewers in the almost invisible world of slime moulds. Kutub became interested in slime moulds in 2024, and as a macro photographer now devotes much of his time to revealing this tiny hidden world. He loves exploring his local woodlands in southeast England, where fallen logs and damp forest floors provide opportunities for discovering these organisms.Slime moulds occur throughout the world, mostly growing on dead wood or leaf litter while feeding on other micro-organisms. The structures depicted are just one to two millimetres high. Technical details include a Canon EOS R5 with 65mm f2.8 1-5x macro lens, 1/4 at f3.2, ISO 400, diffused flash, Cognisys StackShot macro rail, Benro Bat tripod, and a focus stack of 124 images. The competition also includes emotionally charged wildlife portraits.One image by Daniel Konrad shows a male blackbird singing in a vineyard early one April morning. Konrad had to crouch low on the steep slope and point his camera through a gap in the foliage to frame the blackbird within its landscape. Blackbirds can be heard singing at different times of day, but their songs have the most complex compositions at dawn.Blackbirds Singing and Elephant DroughtDuring the spring breeding season, males sing from elevated vantage points to proclaim territory and attract a mate. Females respond with a softer subsong during courtship. The photo was taken with a Fujifilm X-H2S and 150-600mm f5.6-8 lens at 1/800, f8, ISO 400. Another devastating image was taken by James Taylor at a Kenyan waterhole in the Chyulu Hills during a prolonged drought.The photograph shows a young bull elephant spraying a group of zebra as they congregate. Taylor used an infrared camera to soften the harsh light, producing a dreamlike, slightly eerie effect. Waterholes can act as vital lifelines during severe droughts. Larger animals such as elephants have priority over others for access to waterholes.Herbivores spend more time at these drinking spots when elephants are present, possibly because their size deters predators, although competition for water may prolong herbivores' stay. The image was captured with a Nikon Z 7II and 28-75mm f2.8 lens at 1/800, f7.1 (+1 e/v), ISO 800. Isak Andersson's photograph captures two shoebills caught on the wing as they haul vegetation back to a nesting site in a remote swamp.Exploring the swamp in a narrow canoe with a guide, Isak felt exceptionally lucky to see not one but two elusive shoebills. The birds pulled out vegetation, dropped it and then repeated the process several times. It is likely this is a breeding pair gathering nesting material. Though often called the shoebill stork, these large birds are more closely related to pelicans, herons and ibises.Shoebills and Controversial Puma PhotoFewer than 5,300 mature shoebills survive across their entire range and their numbers are decreasing. In Chile, a controversial photograph by Francisco Vega showcases the exploitation of pumas. The image presents a captured puma that has been neutered and branded as a hunting trophy, tied to a fence in the rugged, windswept beauty of Argentine Patagonia. Vega had never witnessed or photographed such a display before.In 2025, Santa Cruz banned the hunting of pumas, but illegal persecution continues. Livestock predation is a major cause of human-puma conflict, and it is suggested that enclosing sheep at night and using guard dogs can significantly reduce livestock loss without resorting to hunting. In southern Chile, some owners have even abandoned sheep farming in favour of puma tourism.Finally, a peaceful scene from California shows a newt in the nest of another newt, a moment of inter-species cooperation documented by researcher Anton Reyes. The photograph, taken during a winter dive into a pond's vegetation, illustrates the delicate arrangements that many amphibians create for raising their young. Anton hadn't seen this pose before, despite documenting newt behaviour each winter.The pond was too dirty to swim, so Anton waded along the edge, carefully dipping his camera and lighting beneath the surface. California newts interlock their back feet to protect the clutch, which are vulnerable to predation by other newts. They will stay like this until the gelatinous mass around the eggs has swollen too large to be eaten and has solidified onto the stem.The image was taken with a Nikon D850 and 8-15mm fisheye lens at 1/100, f18, ISO 400, using a Nauticam housing and Seacam 60D strobes. The awards' collection showcases not only the technical prowess of contemporary wildlife photographers but also shines a light on ecological relationships and environmental challenges. The exhibition underscores how science, conservation and art can combine to tell powerful stories about the natural world.