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鈥檚 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, offer a glimpse into the drama unfolding across the animal kingdom.

Biting Back,听an intimidating shot captured by Andrea and Maceo Grammatico,听was highly commended in the contest鈥檚 Animal聽Portraits category.聽The twins say it聽wasn鈥檛聽until聽reviewing their聽photographs聽that they聽spotted聽a mosquito聽drinking from the head of the聽fer-de-lance聽鈥撀爐he most dangerous snake in Central America.

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

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

Moving away from rural聽environments,听笔辞辞濒迟颈尘别听笔补蝉迟颈尘别听by Loren Elliott,听below, was聽highly commended in the Urban Wildlife category. Elliott captures聽the聽unusual聽sight聽of a聽black bear聽taking time to chill in a swimming pool in southern California. While the bear聽may look聽somewhat聽out聽of place,听these run-ins are becoming聽surprisingly common as聽housing developments continue聽to聽encroach聽on bear territory.聽聽

Finally,听a black vulture grasps the carcass of a yacare caiman in Andrew Parkinson鈥檚聽Wings of Darkness,听below, captured in Brazil鈥檚 Pantanal wetlands聽and聽also聽highly commended in the Animal Portraits category.聽Despite a seemingly firm grip, the scavenger鈥檚 meal聽wasn鈥檛聽to be,听with a jaguar waiting just out of shot for the perfect opportunity to claim the聽caiman.

The competition鈥檚 overall winner will be announced on 13 October. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year聽contest is organised by London鈥檚 Natural History聽Museum,听which 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鈥檚 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. 鈥淚ts unusual perspective and scale provoke curiosity and wonder, turning the frame into a visual and conceptual study of nature,鈥� said the competition鈥檚 jury in an announcement about Galitz鈥檚 win.

The male sperm whale carcass makes for an unusual snack when compared with polar bears鈥� more typical seal meal. The location of the shot is also intriguing 鈥� 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鈥� 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.