The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled a preview of some of the winning images from the 62nd annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The selection offers a glimpse into the 100 winning photographs that will be showcased in the upcoming exhibition.

Judged anonymously by an international panel of experts in photography, filmmaking, science, and conservation, the winning images were chosen for their creativity, originality, technical excellence, and storytelling. The competition received a record-breaking 65,403 entries from across the globe.

Among the highlighted images is Audun Rikardsen's photograph of an inquisitive polar bear peering into a seal's breathing hole in the Arctic sea ice. Another featured photograph by Ernest Porter captures an oxpecker meticulously cleaning its bill against the skin of a rhino in South Africa.

Other previewed images include a black bear taking a dip in a pool in Monrovia, California, photographed by Loren Elliott . Jens Cullman captured an African bullfrog lunging for an African babul butterfly in Botswana, while Vegard Byrkjeland Aasen documented an adult orca supporting a calf in the frigid waters of a Norwegian fjord.

The collection also features a striking image by twins Andrea and Maceo Grammatico, offering a snake's-eye view of a mosquito feeding on a viper's blood. Jack Crockford's photograph shows the silhouette of a swift against a plane approaching Heathrow Airport, and Dewald Tromp’s "Eye of the Storm" depicts a chameleon battling a sandstorm in the Namib Desert.

Gil Wizen's entry showcases a katydid expertly camouflaged in Ecuador A katydid camouflaging itself in Ecuador. Sora Miyazawa photographed an Eastern Japanese toad navigating Tokyo's streets after rainfall An Eastern Japanese toad wanders through the streets of Tokyo after rainfall by Sora Miyazawa. Andrew Parkinson's "Wings of Darkness" portrays a black vulture perched on a yacaré caiman carcass in Brazil's Pantanal wetlands.

Additional winning photographs include Allegra Hutton's image of a young leopard chasing a squirrel in Botswana Allegra Hutton captured a young leopard chasing a squirrel up a tree in Botswana, Shane Gross's depiction of bigeye trevally swimming as a storm approaches D'Arros Island, Seychelles A school of bigeye trevally swimming as the morning light breaks and a storm approaches at D'Arros Island, Seychelles, and Pietro Rojas's photograph of a brown bear on a motorcycle in a circus ring in Doha, Qatar A brown bear is seen riding a small motorcycle as it circles a circus ring in Doha, Qatar, in this image by Pietro Rojas. Ralph Pace captured a sea hare gliding through an eelgrass meadow in Monterey Bay, California, and Bence Mate documented a flock of red-billed queleas swirling above a pond in Kenya.

Kathy Moran, chair of the jury, expressed her consistent surprise at the evolving quality of entries, stating, "Every year I think the entries to our competition can't get any stronger… and every year I am proven wrong." She added that the preview offers "a small insight into the 100 incredible images in store for visitors" and that "These images pave the way for a deepened appreciation and commitment to our natural world."

The full exhibition of the winning images will be on display at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington from October 16, 2026, to July 11, 2027.