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Winning photograph captures rare moment of wildcat play
Austrian photographer Josef Stefan has won the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award with an image of a young Iberian lynx mid-play, titled Flying Rodent. The photograph was taken in Torre de Juan Abad, Spain, after days of patient observation.
The moment of play
Stefan spent two weeks in a hide, waiting for the right shot. The lynx appeared suddenly, clutching prey in its jaws, and began tossing it into the air repeatedly. For nearly 20 minutes, the animal remained engrossed, at times standing on its hind legs as if mesmerized by the rodent's movement. The behavior ended when the lynx lost interest and retreated behind a bush to eat.
"To me, it looked as if the rodent could fly," Stefan said of the scene.
Conservation success for a rare species
The Iberian lynx, one of the world's rarest wildcats, was nearly extinct in the early 2000s, with fewer than 100 individuals remaining. Conservation efforts, including reintroduction programs, have since boosted the population to over 2,000. Despite this recovery, the species remains classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Public voting and exhibition
The award, organized by the Natural History Museum in London, drew a record 85,917 votes from wildlife photography enthusiasts worldwide. Alongside the winning image, four other finalists received high commendations. All five photographs will be displayed online and at the museum until the exhibition closes on Sunday, 12 July 2026.
Other notable finalists
- A polar bear mother and her three cubs pausing along Canada's Hudson Bay coast, where shrinking sea ice is forcing bears to adapt.
- Lesser flamingos gathered under power lines in Namibia at sunset, their movement contrasting with the industrial landscape.
- Two bear cubs play-fighting on a road in Jasper National Park, a rare sight as mothers typically keep cubs hidden.
- A sika deer in Japan carrying the head of a rival after a fight, observed dragging the body for days before the head detached.
- A sloth shielding her baby from rain in Costa Rica, highlighting the species' slow, arboreal lifestyle.
Diverse wildlife stories
The competition showcased a range of wildlife behaviors and conservation challenges. Among the finalists were images of a polar bear cub in Svalbard later separated from its mother, a pangolin pup in a South African rescue center, and a tiger with rare pseudo-melanism in India's Similipal Tiger Reserve. Other highlights included a sun bear in Thailand with a butterfly resting on its snout and a giant otter with leucism in Brazil's Pantanal.
