Iberian lynx's deadly hunt wins top wildlife photography prize
Austrian photographer Josef Stefan has won the Nuveen People's Choice Award 2026 from London's Natural History Museum. For two weeks, he endured a hide near the Spanish village of Torre de Juan Abad, patiently waiting to capture the moment an Iberian lynx engaged in a deadly game with a rodent.
Nearly 86,000 votes were cast for the public prize—a new record. Alongside the winning shot, four other images stood out among the 60,000-plus submissions, including a striking photograph by Swiss photographer Alexandre Brisson. In Namibia, he seized the perfect instant as two flamingos flew in near-perfect sync over power lines.
The remaining three top images also underscore the stark contrast between nature's wild beauty and harsh reality—such as a poignant shot of a sleeping polar bear family in Canada.
