From a viper with a bloodthirsty hitchhiker to a bullfrog narrowly missing its lunch, these photographs, all of which are in the running for this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, offer a glimpse into the drama unfolding across the animal kingdom.

Biting Back,Ěýan intimidating shot captured by Andrea and Maceo Grammatico,Ěýwas highly commended in the contest’s Animal Portraits category. The twins say it wasn’t until reviewing their photographs that they spotted a mosquito drinking from the head of the fer-de-lance – the most dangerous snake in Central America.

There was a near miss in Jens Cullmann’s Split-Second Escape, highly commended in the Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles category and shown in the main image. The moment was almost as fleeting as the frog’s prey – an African babul blue butterfly – and all the more remarkable given that Cullmann had spotted tadpoles a month earlier, returning to find them transformed into young bullfrogs. African bullfrogs spend much of the year underground in an inactive state known as aestivation,Ěýemerging only for a short period after the rainy season to breed,Ěýhunt and gorge. 

Hiding not hunting is the speciality of the lichen dragon katydid captured by Gil Wizen,Ěýbelow. Named Hidden Dragon, Wizen’s shot, highly commended in the Behaviour: Invertebrates category, captures the almost perfectly camouflaged, 15-millimetre-long, spiky insect – a rare species found only in the Ecuadorian Andes mountains.

Moving away from rural environments,Ěý±Ę´Ç´Ç±ôłŮľ±łľ±đĚý±Ę˛ą˛őłŮľ±łľ±đĚýby Loren Elliott,Ěýbelow, was highly commended in the Urban Wildlife category. Elliott captures the unusual sight of a black bear taking time to chill in a swimming pool in southern California. While the bear may look somewhat out of place,Ěýthese run-ins are becoming surprisingly common as housing developments continue to encroach on bear territory.  

Finally,Ěýa black vulture grasps the carcass of a yacare caiman in Andrew Parkinson’s Wings of Darkness,Ěýbelow, captured in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands and also highly commended in the Animal Portraits category. Despite a seemingly firm grip, the scavenger’s meal wasn’t to be,Ěýwith a jaguar waiting just out of shot for the perfect opportunity to claim the caiman.

The competition’s overall winner will be announced on 13 October. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest is organised by London’s Natural History Museum,Ěýwhich will run an of the images from 16 October to 11 July 2027.

Roie Galitz
2026 World Press Photo Contest

Dwarfed by her dinner, a female polar bear feasts on the carcass of a sperm whale more than 100 times her mass, a deep-diving giant weighing more than 35 tonnes and usually found far below the ocean’s surface.

This shot, , was captured by Roie Galitz, and is one of the winners of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest. The image was taken from a small boat, using a drone. “Its unusual perspective and scale provoke curiosity and wonder, turning the frame into a visual and conceptual study of nature,” said the competition’s jury in an announcement about Galitz’s win.

The male sperm whale carcass makes for an unusual snack when compared with polar bears’ more typical seal meal. The location of the shot is also intriguing – captured in the polar pack ice north of the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, the shallow sea is far from the open-ocean trenches sperm whales usually inhabit. According to , while most whales sink after dying, gas production during decomposition causes roughly 10 per cent of them to become buoyant, and their carcasses drift into shallower seas.

Although visually captivating, the shot acts as a stark reminder of the devastating effects Arctic warming is having on polar bears. Despite the bears’ best efforts at adaptation, their melting habitat presents a bleak outlook, with numbers expected to significantly decline before 2100.

The image can be seen as part of the World Press Photo Exhibition, in London until 30 September.