Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 – The Best Pictures So Far
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A Nosy Polar Bear and a Lucky Squirrel: Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 Shortlist
Image source: Audun Rikardsen
Image caption: This image titled "Icy Window" was highly commended in the "Animal Portraits" category.
By Maddie Molloy
Climate & Science reporter
Published 4 hours ago
How would it feel to find yourself face to face with one of the Arctic’s most formidable predators?
This stunning image captures life from a seal’s perspective. Taken by Norwegian wildlife photographer Audun Rikardsen, it was among the ‘Highly Commended’ entries in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
While working as a guide with Arctic Wildlife Tours, Rikardsen rigged an underwater camera with a motion sensor beneath a seal’s breathing hole, and then waited. At 4 am, a female polar bear approached and peered down. Rikardsen then waited eight hours for the bear to move away before retrieving the camera and reviewing the images.
"I was so extremely happy. I was screaming, so I probably woke up all the polar bears for miles," he said.
Rikardsen has previously won two Wildlife Photographer of the Year categories:
- Birds in 2019
- Oceans: The Bigger Picture in 2025
The overall winners will be announced on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, followed by an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London from Friday, 16 October 2026.
Explore Other Highly Commended Works
- Living alongside polar bears in the Canadian Arctic (BBC World Service)
Image source: Jack Crockford
Title: The Art of Flying
Photographer: Jack Crockford (UK)
Category: Highly Commended, 15-17 Years
Location: Bushy Park, London
Crockford watched swifts return to London after their annual migration from Africa, filling the air with their high-pitched calls. Most flew too high to photograph, but a few lower-flying ones gave Crockford the opportunity to capture the picture he wanted. Swifts spend almost their entire lives in the air, usually landing only to nest.
- An Urban Wanderer (BBC)
Image source: Sora Miyazawa
Title: Urban Wanderer
Photographer: Sora Miyazawa (Japan)
Category: Highly Commended, 11-14 Years
Location: Tokyo, Japan
After rainfall, Miyazawa came across an Eastern Japanese toad making its way along a city street. He used a slow shutter speed to photograph it before it hopped back into the bushes. Eastern Japanese toads are typically found in forests, grasslands, and other terrestrial habitats across eastern Japan, but they have also proved remarkably adaptable to urban environments.
- Lifted to the Surface (BBC)
Image source: Vegard Byrkjeland Aasen
Title: Lifted to the Surface
Photographer: Vegard Byrkjeland Aasen (Norway)
Category: Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals
Location: Kvænangen, Troms County, Norway
Aasen was flying a drone for the Norwegian Orca Survey when he noticed an adult orca carrying the body of a deceased calf through a Norwegian fjord. The orca repeatedly allowed the calf to sink before bringing it back to the surface, a difficult moment to watch but one that Aasen felt was important to record. The behaviour may have been an attempt to revive or protect the calf. Killer whales have previously been observed carrying deceased calves, including a case where a female Southern Resident killer whale carried her dead calf for at least 17 days.
- Title: [Missing title data from the provided text]
Image source: Andrea & Maceo Grammatico
