In brief
In Namibia’s Huab River Valley, photographer Federico Veronesi captured an elephant carrying a dead calf, a scene that earned him the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year title. The moment, filmed after following drag marks across a dry riverbed, reveals complex animal emotion beyond obvious parentage. Veronesi said it was the most heart‑wrenching of his twenty years, urging viewers to see animals as individuals with memories and feelings. The winning image will be displayed at the Natural History Museum’s annual exhibition from 16 October.
On 14 October 2026, Italian photographer Federico Veronesi captured a moving scene in Namibia’s Huab River Valley that earned him the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year. While following unseasonal drag marks across the sand of a dry riverbed, Veronesi encountered a female elephant bearing the limp body of a dead calf, its foot awkwardly wedged between trunk and tusk.
He initially thought the elephant was the calf’s mother, but after sharing the image with researchers in the area it became clear the woman had once lost another calf and often carried the bodies of others. “Of all the 20 years I’ve done photographing animals, this is the most heart‑wrecking and fascinating and dramatic,” Veronesi told BBC News. “It reveals the depth and complexity of the emotions, the feelings of the animals.”
Veronesi hopes the photograph will encourage people to look beyond the animal’s physical appearance and recognise them as individuals with relationships, memories and feelings – a small window into the complexity of their world.
The winning image will be showcased at the Natural History Museum’s annual exhibition, opening on 16 October 2026. The display will include additional award‑winning shots from categories such as underwater life, birds and urban wildlife, giving visitors a broad perspective on nature’s beauty and the skills that capture it.
