The Natural History Museum in London has revealed the public shortlist for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026, and two of the most talked‑about photographs show nature at its most raw: a deer dragging the rotting head of its defeated opponent and a lynx apparently playing with its food mid-hunt.
A brutal duel frozen in time
In a photograph titled “Never-Ending Struggle,” Japanese photographer Kohei Nagira captures a sika deer locked in a grim aftermath of battle. The stag strides across the landscape still carrying the severed head and antlers of a rival male, lodged tightly in his own antlers.
The victorious deer reportedly dragged the entire corpse for days before the body finally tore free, leaving only the skull and antlers attached.
According to a local fisherman quoted alongside the entry, the fight had originally been about a female in season. The victor won mating rights but lost his freedom of movement when his antlers became twisted around those of his opponent.
As the dead body deteriorated, the live deer continued moving through its range, hauling the weight of its rival behind it. Only when the carcass decayed and tore at the neck did the animal gain partial relief, though the grisly trophy remained fixed in place.
The image forces viewers to confront how violent and unforgiving the breeding season can be. It also highlights how antlers, used for display and combat, can become deadly liabilities once locked together.
Why these fights turn deadly
Male deer, such as Japan’s sika deer, battle by charging and clashing antlers in shoving contests. Usually, one male backs down before serious injury. Occasionally, antlers interlock so tightly that the animals cannot separate.
- The locked pair may both die from exhaustion, starvation or predation.
- Sometimes, as this case suggests, one dies first and the other drags the body for days.
- Human intervention is rare in remote or protected areas, so nature runs its course.
Photographs like “Never-Ending Struggle” are rarely captured because these events happen unpredictably and often far from people. The scene looks almost mythical, yet it is a straightforward consequence of mating competition.
The lynx that turned dinner into a game
At the other end of the emotional spectrum sits “Flying Rodent,” a photograph by Josef Stefan. It shows a young lynx in mid-play, tossing a small rodent into the air like a toy.
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The predator’s paws are outstretched, eyes locked on its airborne prey, blending hunting practice with what looks suspiciously like fun.
The moment is both charming and slightly unnerving. For the lynx, this behaviour is likely a form of training. Young predators hone their coordination, timing and killing techniques by playing with live or freshly killed animals.
To human viewers, the image carries a strange double effect: the rodent appears almost weightless, while the lynx bristles with focused energy. It’s a reminder that play in wild carnivores is not just leisure; it is preparation for survival.
Predators at play
Ethologists — scientists who study animal behaviour — have long argued that play in young mammals builds critical hunting skills. Lynx kittens that practice pouncing and throwing are more likely to catch agile prey later on.
Playful handling of prey can:
- Improve reflexes and balance.
- Teach how tightly to grip and where to bite.
- Rehearse the sequence of stalk, chase and capture.
Stefan’s photograph distils that learning process into one frame: a casual toss that is, in reality, a lesson in how to eat.
A global vote on nature’s most striking moments
The Nuveen People’s Choice Award is the public-facing arm of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, which is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. Unlike the main competition, judged by an expert panel, this category invites anyone with internet access to cast a vote.
Voting is open worldwide until 18 March 2026, with the winning image announced on 25 March at the museum.
The chosen photograph will join 100 other standout pictures from the last edition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, forming an exhibition in South Kensington that runs until July 2026.
The People’s Choice shortlist functions as a kind of mood board for how the public currently views nature: beautiful, threatened, sometimes tender and often brutal. This year’s selection ranges from tiny insects to polar bears adrift in a warming Arctic.
Other standout images on the shortlist
While the deer and lynx images are grabbing much of the attention, they sit among a broad set of scenes that highlight both animal behaviour and human impact.
| Image title | Subject | Key theme |
|---|---|---|
| Swirling Superpod | Spinner dolphins driving lanternfish to the Pacific surface | Coordinated hunting and ocean ecology |
| The Final Portrait | Polar bear cub after an unsuccessful hunt in Svalbard | Energy stress and changing Arctic conditions |
| Portrait of Extinction | Rangers before a mountain of confiscated snares | Poaching, enforcement and conservation |
| Beauty Against the Beast | Flamingos framed by power lines and industry | Wildlife living alongside heavy infrastructure |
| Uniqueness | Leucistic otter feeding on a catfish in Brazil | Rare genetic traits and individuality |
Two shortlisted photographs of polar bears stand out for their emotional punch. One shows a mother and her three cubs resting on bare, muddy ground in Canada during the summer heat, an image that quietly evokes the loss of sea ice. Another, titled “The Final Portrait,” captures a cub following its mother after an unsuccessful hunt, raising questions about how long such family groups can survive on dwindling food supplies.
From sloths to solar panels
The shortlist also includes tender and unexpected moments. A brown-throated three-toed sloth huddles under its mother in the rain. A pangolin pup is wrapped in a blanket at a South African rescue centre. A lion-tailed macaque travels through India’s Western Ghats with its infant clinging tightly to its fur.
Even human technology makes an appearance. “Solar Waves,” by Francesco Russo, shows ranks of solar panels rippling across the landscape like water. Placed alongside images of wild animals, the scene asks how modern energy systems can coexist with habitats rather than replace them.
How competitions shape our view of wildlife
Photography contests like Wildlife Photographer of the Year do more than showcase technical skill. They influence how millions of people think about animals and ecosystems, often compressing complex environmental stories into a single compelling frame.
A single photo of a deer entangled with a dead rival may stick in the public memory longer than pages of scientific data.
That emotional reaction can nudge viewers to read about issues such as mating behaviour, habitat loss or climate change. It can also spark donations, policy conversations and personal choices about travel, diet or activism.
At the same time, judges and curators must tread carefully. Images that lean too heavily on shock risk numbing audiences. Those that show only beauty can gloss over urgent threats. The current shortlist tries to sit between those extremes: delight, unease and curiosity in roughly equal measure.
Looking closer: a few terms and ideas unpacked
Several scientific ideas sit quietly behind these striking pictures. Understanding them adds another layer to what the camera captures.
Antlers vs. horns: The sika deer in “Never-Ending Struggle” carries antlers, not horns. Antlers are made of bone and are shed and regrown each year, usually larger each time until old age. Horns, like those of many antelopes, are permanent, keratin-covered structures. The annual regrowth of antlers is what allows deer to adapt their weaponry to changing rivals, but it also creates those risky branching shapes that can hook together.
Leucism and rare colouration: The pale otter in “Uniqueness” shows leucism, a genetic condition that reduces pigment in the skin and fur but not in the eyes. It is different from albinism and can make animals more conspicuous to predators or mates, altering their chances of survival.
Superpods: When spinner dolphins gather in “superpods,” sometimes numbering in the thousands, they can herd small fish and squid into tight groups, pushing them towards the surface where they are easier to catch. These gatherings say a lot about prey abundance and ocean health; if prey numbers fall, such large feeding groups may become rarer.
What these images can inspire in everyday life
For many viewers, the closest they will ever come to a lynx or sika deer is through photographs like these. That distance does not make their response less meaningful. Curators at the Natural History Museum often report that visitors leave the exhibition asking what they personally can do.
Some realistic options include supporting local conservation groups, choosing nature-friendly tourism, or simply paying more attention to urban wildlife. Photographing foxes, garden birds or insects in a city park can echo the same patience and curiosity that produced the People’s Choice shortlist, just on a smaller scale.
There is also a mental health angle. Spending focused time watching animals, even through a lens or a museum print, can reduce stress and sharpen observation skills. The next time you see an image of a deer burdened with its enemy’s head or a lynx tossing its prey into the air, you might not just feel shock or awe. You might also feel nudged to look more closely at the creatures quietly living alongside you every day.