Playful lynx snatches top prize in photo competition

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Maddie MolloyBBC Climate & Science reporter

Josef Stefan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A lynx stands upright on its hind legs on a dirt path, one paw raised as it bats a small rodent into the air. The background is softly blurred, focusing attention on the mid-action moment.

A young Iberian lynx caught mid play has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award 2026.

The striking image, titled Flying Rodent, was taken by Austrian photographer Josef Stefan during a two-week stay in Torre de Juan Abad, in Spain's Ciudad Real province.

He had spent several days in a hide when the young lynx suddenly appeared with its prey and began repeatedly throwing it into the air and catching it again.

For nearly 20 minutes, the lynx remained absorbed in the behaviour, at times standing on its "hind legs with its gaze fixed on the rodent", he said. "To me, it looked as if the rodent could fly."

The moment ended when the animal lost interest, carrying its prey behind a bush to eat it.

The Iberian lynx is one of the world's rarest wildcats and was on the brink of extinction in the early 2000s, with fewer than 100 individuals remaining.

Thanks to long-term conservation and reintroduction efforts, the population has recovered to more than 2,000, though it still remains at risk as a vulnerable species under International Union for Conservation of Nature classification.

The other 24 nominated images for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award, which you can see below, received a record-breaking 85,917 votes from wildlife photography and nature fans worldwide.

In addition to the winning image, four other finalists were highly commended.

Finalist: Family Rest by Christopher Paetkau (Canada)

Christopher Paetkau / Wildlife Photographer of the Year An overhead view shows a mother polar bear and three cubs clustered together on rocky ground. Their bodies overlap, forming a tight group with soft white fur contrasting against brown earth and stones.

A mother polar bear and her three cubs pause after a long journey along the Hudson Bay coast.

Finalist: Beauty Against the Beast by Alexandre Brisson (Switzerland)

Alexandre Brisson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A wide, symmetrical landscape shows rows of power lines receding into the distance. Below them, a dense cluster of pink flamingos gathers in shallow water, dwarfed by the towering industrial structures.

At a sanctuary in Walvis Bay, Namibia, a group of lesser flamingos gather beneath a stretch of power lines at sunset.

When two birds finally lifted off, their movement cut across the industrial scene.

Finalist: Dancing in the Headlights, by Will Nicholls (UK)

Will Nicholls/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Two small bear cubs stand upright facing each other in the middle of a paved road, appearing to play-fight. A car with headlights on is stopped behind them, its lights casting a glow around their silhouettes.

In Jasper National Park in Canada, two bear cubs were spotted play-fighting in the middle of a road.

Cubs are not often seen, as mothers usually keep them out of sight.

Finalist: Never-ending Struggle by Kohei Nagira (Japan)

Kohei Nagira/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A deer stands with a second set of antlers tangled with or attached to its own, hanging awkwardly from its head. The pale background isolates the unusual and slightly unsettling scene.

On Japan's Notsuke Peninsula, a sika deer was seen carrying the head of a rival after a fight.

A fisherman reported it had dragged the body for days before the head came free.

The deer continued to survive alone through the winter months.

Other incredible images that were in the running

Hold Me Tightly by Dvir Barkay (USA)

Dvir Barkay/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A grey sloth with long, wet fur curls around a smaller baby pressed into its chest. Their limbs intertwine, forming a tight, protective bundle with textures of damp fur filling the frame.

The Final Portrait, by Nima Sarikhani (UK)

Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A close-up of a young polar bear walking through the snow, its head lowered and eyes looking forward towards the camera. The soft white fur blends into the snowy ground, with only the dark eyes and nose sharply defined.

A polar bear cub travels the icy Svalbard coast with its mother. Soon after, people drove them from nearby huts; the mother was later found dead and the cub was shot after showing aggression, meaning this is likely the final image of them.

Ready to Pounce, by Joseph Ferraro (USA)

Joseph Ferraro/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A tiny, bright yellow-green ambush bug nymph perches on a reddish, spiky flower. Its body is textured and slightly translucent, with folded legs tucked beneath it, blending into the vivid plant.

Hidden in plain sight, an ambush bug nymph waits motionless inside a flower in Michigan. It can stay still for hours, striking only when prey wanders too close. In an instant, venom does the rest.

Along for the Ride, by Chris Gug (USA)

Chris Gug/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A translucent jellyfish glows greenish in dark water, its bell softly lit. A small yellow crab clings to the top, as the jellyfish’s delicate tentacles trail beneath.

In Indonesia's Lembeh Strait at night, a tiny crab clings to a drifting jellyfish. No-one knows if it was travelling, hiding, or hunting from its living raft.

A Fragile Future, by Lance van de Vyver (South Africa)

Lance van de Vyver/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A small pangolin curls on a dark, soft blanket, its pale, overlapping scales catching dim light. Its small snout rests downward and one tiny clawed forelimb stretches forward, giving a fragile, sleepy appearance against the dark background.

At a South African rescue centre, a pangolin pup rests wrapped in a blanket. Pangolin's are among the world's most trafficked animals. Its mother had survived poaching long enough to give birth but died soon after.

Dark Knight, by Prasenjeet Yadav (India)

Prasenjeet Yadav/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A tiger stands mid-step in a dense, dark forest, illuminated by a flash that highlights its unusually thick, dark stripes. Surrounding foliage fades into dark background, emphasising the animal’s alert posture and glowing eyes.

In Similipal Tiger Reserve, a tiger with rare and unusually wide dark stripes, known as T12, moves through the forest like a shadow. T12 has pseudo-melanism and was once the reserve's only male. Now he has fathered new generations.

Into the Furnace, by Mogens Trolle (Denmark)

Mogens Trolle/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A small black sun bear leans out from a rusted furnace. A beautiful blue butterfly rests on the bears pale muzzle which contrasts with its dark fur.

A sun bear shelters from the rain in Thailand's Kaeng Krachan National Park as a butterfly briefly rests on its snout. These bears increasingly appear near campsites in search of easy meals.

Portrait of Extinction, by Adam Oswell (Australia)

Adam Oswell / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A large mound of tangled metal wires, traps, and debris outdoors. One person stands on the wires in the middle and another knees beside the pile, giving a sense of scale to the chaotic mass.

Rangers guard a mountain of confiscated snares in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. The pile represents just one year of traps taken from the bush.

Uniqueness, by Daniela Anger (Germany)

Daniela Anger / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A pale, almost cream-colored otter stands in shallow water, holding a fish in its front paws. Water droplets drip from its fur as it looks forward, surrounded by green, blurred vegetation.

In Brazil's southern Pantanal, a rare pale giant otter feeds on a catfish. Its white fur is caused by leucism, which may make it more vulnerable, yet it repeatedly returned to the same branch, seemingly unconcerned by observers.

Above and Below by Charles Davis (Australia)

Charles Davis/Wildlife Photographer of the Year An adult possum stands on a horizontal tree branch at night, while a smaller joey hangs upside down beneath it. The dark background isolates the pair, lit by a flash that highlights their fur and eyes.

A camera trap in Tasmania originally set to photograph quolls captured a possum mother and joey passing nightly to forage. One evening, the joey turned playful, mimicking every move of its mother.

Swirling Superpod by Cecile Gabillon (France)

Cecile Gabillon / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A large group of dolphins swims in coordinated motion through deep blue water. Light filters from above, illuminating their sleek bodies as they curve and turn in a loose formation.

Free-diving off Costa Rica, Gabillon found herself in a vast superpod of spinner dolphins herding lanternfish. Such huge gatherings are becoming rarer as overfishing and pollution increase.

Beak-to-Beak by Ponlawat Thaipinnarong (Thailand)

Ponlawat Thaipinnarong/Wildlife Photographer of the Year An adult crane with a red head bends down toward a small, fluffy chick perched against its body. Their beaks nearly touch, creating an intimate moment against a softly blurred background.

In the rice paddies of Buri Ram, Thailand, a sarus crane gently cleans its one-week-old chick before lingering in a quiet beak-to-beak moment.

Marvellous Spatuletail by Dustin Chen (UK)

Dustin Chen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A small hummingbird hovers mid-air near flowers, its long tail feathers extending behind it into two thin strands ending in petal like tips. The background is green and softly out of focus.

At Huembo Lodge in Peru, a male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird fans its extraordinary tail as it feeds on flowers. The bird uses this ornate tail to attract mates, yet its forest habitat has been eroded by population growth, farming, and logging, leaving it confined to a small area of the northern Andes.

A Fleeting Moment by Lior Berman (Costa Rica)

Lior Berman/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A bird stands on a forest floor, holding a large insect in its beak. Its tail is raised, showing layered feathers, while green foliage frames the scene.

In Costa Rica, a rufous-vented ground cuckoo snatches a cicada fleeing an army ant swarm. This elusive, iridescent predator relies on split-second timing and is rarely seen, let alone photographed.

A Leap into Adulthood by Peter Lindel (Germany)

Peter Lindel/Wildlife Photographer of the Year Three young birds cluster at the edge of a nest tucked under a slanted roof against a brick wall. They lean forward together, peering outward as if preparing to move.

From his living room in Dortmund, Lindel watched young kestrels hesitate before leaping from their nest to a beam just 80 centimetres away. It took nearly a week for them to jump, then another week exploring before they left.

Solar Waves by Francesco Russo (UK/Italy)

Francesco Russo / Wildlife Photographer of the Year An overhead shot shows rows of solar panels arranged in geometric patterns, intersected by narrow paths or channels. The repeating shapes create a textured, grid-like landscape.

Rows of solar panels carefully laid around pasture boundaries ripple across fields near the hamlet of Cambridge, England.

Precious Cargo by Thomas Hunt (UK)

Thomas Hunt / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A pale, long-legged spider hangs upside down, holding a tight cluster of round eggs beneath its body. The background is warm-toned and softly blurred, emphasizing the delicate legs and egg bundle.

In his sister's room in Southampton, Thomas found a cellar spider carrying a ball of eggs in her jaws. He moved her to the garage, where she guarded the eggs for weeks until they hatched into tiny spiderlings.

Couple's Camouflage by Artur Tomaszek (Poland)

Artur Tomaszek / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A spider with a rough, bark-like texture sits motionless on a branch. Its body blends closely with the wood, making it difficult to distinguish where the spider ends and the bark begins.

On a tree trunk in Thailand's Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area, a tiny male broad-headed bark spider rides on the abdomen of a camouflaged female, waiting for her to moult so he can mate. Females are several times larger, and Artur had to find their web at night, then search the bark by day to see them at all.

Bond in Motion by Lalith Ekanayake (Sri Lanka)

Lalith Ekanayake/Wildlife Photographer of the Year A dark-furred monkey with a distinctive pale mane runs along a path, its face sharply in focus. A small infant clings close, partially hidden, as the background blurs with motion.

In India's Western Ghats, a lion-tailed macaque races along a path, its infant clinging close and both pairs of eyes fixed ahead. Among the world's most endangered macaques, these forest primates now survive in small, fragmented populations as human activity eats into their habitat.

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