US EditionPlayful Lynx Wins Wildlife Photographer Peoples Choice Prize 2026
Josef Stefan’s photo of a young Iberian lynx playing with prey won a public vote with a record 85,917 votes from 60,636 entries worldwide.
- Austrian photographer Josef Stefan won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People's Choice Award with his image 'Flying Rodent,' securing a record 85,917 votes for a photograph of a young Iberian lynx tossing a rodent into the air before killing it in Ciudad Real, Spain.
- Stefan's winning shot emerged from a November 2024 fieldwork expedition where he spent two weeks observing Iberian lynx from a hide at Torre de Juan Abad, documenting the playful behavior of a young lynx with its caught rodent prey.
- The lynx's play lasted about 20 minutes before the animal took its prey behind a bush, representing typical predatory behavior; Stefan said the photograph fulfills "the pursuit of a dream that had been with me for years: encountering the Iberian lynx, one of the rarest and most endangered wild cats in the world."
- Flying Rodent will be featured on the gallery wall at the Natural History Museum, London, through July 12, 2026, with the top five images displayed on voting screens. Dr Douglas Gurr, museum director, praised the selection as "truly exceptional."
- The competition drew 60,636 entries from 113 countries and territories, with Stefan's 30-year photography career culminating in victory over 23 other shortlisted photographs and the 100 main competition winners announced previously.
23 Articles
23 Articles
A photo of the extremely rare Iberian lynx won the Nature Photographer of the Year competition.
A photo of a rare lynx won the public prize in a photography competition organized by the Natural History Museum in London.
An Iberian lynx playfully tossing a rodent into the air: with his photo 'Flying Rodent', Josef Stefan has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award 2026. The Austrian photographer took the shot in Torre de Juan Abad, in southern Spain. Discover the other award-winning photos below.
More than ever - namely 85,917 nature and photography enthusiasts from all over the world - have been in to judge their favorite nature image among the 24 pieces that were nominated for the audience award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
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