Elephant Carrying Dead Calf Wins World’s Best Wildlife Photo
London: Italian photographer Federico Veronesi’s black-and-white image, The Aftermath, taken in Namibia, has won the top honour at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition. The photograph shows a female elephant carrying her dead calf, with one of its legs caught between her tusks and trunk.London’s Natural History Museum announced the winners on October…
London: Italian photographer Federico Veronesi’s black-and-white image, The Aftermath, taken in Namibia, has won the top honour at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition. The photograph shows a female elephant carrying her dead calf, with one of its legs caught between her tusks and trunk.
London’s Natural History Museum announced the winners on October 13. Veronesi captured the scene while following elephants in Namibia’s Huab River Valley. According to researchers, the elephant had lost her own calf years earlier and had previously been observed carrying the dead calves of other elephants.
This year’s competition received a record 65,403 entries from 121 countries and territories. The jury selected the winning images based on creativity, technical skill, originality, and storytelling.
Fourteen-year-old British photographer Oscar Whitfield, based in Zimbabwe, won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for his image Labour of Love. The photograph shows a dung beetle pushing a ball of dung larger than its own body.
The winning images will go on display at London’s Natural History Museum from October 16, 2026, aiming to highlight stories from nature and the importance of wildlife conservation.
