World Nature Photography Awards 2026 names 14 gold images

The World Nature Photography Awards announced its 2026 winners, naming Australia's Jono Allen World Nature Photographer of the Year for a photo of a rare white humpback calf called Mãhina; the contest drew entries from 51 countries and produced 14 gold-medal images across multiple categories.

The World Nature Photography Awards has unveiled the winners of its 2026 competition. Australia's Jono Allen received the top prize for a photo of a rare white humpback calf named Mãhina with her protective mother. The contest attracted entries from 51 countries across six continents. The awards were founded on the idea that photography can influence perspectives and support positive action for the planet. Notable details: - Jono Allen won the grand prize for an image of Mãhina, a moon-white humpback calf photographed in Vava'u, Tonga; such lack of pigmentation occurs in about 1 in 40,000 humpbacks, and the photo was presented as a symbol of species recovery after historic whaling. - The competition produced 14 gold-medal images spanning categories such as Animal Portraits, Behaviour (mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, invertebrates), Plants and Fungi, Nature Art, Urban Wildlife, Landscapes, Black and White, Animals in their Habitat, People and Nature, and Nature Photojournalism. - Selected gold winners include Mary Schrader’s gorilla-and-butterfly portrait in Bwindi, Vaidehi Chandrasekar’s “Giraffe Water ballet” in Botswana, and Robert Gloeckner’s image of a polar bear investigating discarded household items in Churchill, Manitoba. - Other highlighted images show a geothermal pool in Iceland, a brown bear catching sockeye salmon in Alaska, and a photo documenting care at a large chimpanzee sanctuary in Florida. - Organizers emphasized the awards’ belief that small positive actions and compelling images can help shape public perspectives about nature. Summary: The announced images capture intimate, dramatic, and sometimes challenging interactions between wildlife, people, and environment, and they reflect the contest’s global scope and conservation-minded framing. Undetermined at this time.