Urban Coyote and Tragic Elephant Capture Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026
A 4.7‑meter‑long elephant in Kruger National Park was photographed carrying a dead calf in 2026. The image was taken by South African photographer Aisha Mbeki on a rainy afternoon in the park’s savanna. It won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for the most moving animal portrait of the year. The photo highlights the stark reality of animal loss in Africa’s most iconic wildlife reserve.
What Happened
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, organized by the Royal Photographic Society, announced its 2026 winners on 12 March 2026. Liam O'Connor from Dublin captured a solitary coyote in a Los Angeles alley on 3 November 2025, its amber eyes reflecting neon streetlights. The image was submitted as the winner for the Urban Wildlife category. Meanwhile, Aisha Mbeki’s photograph of an African elephant carrying a dead calf in Kruger National Park, South Africa, was submitted on 8 December 2025 and won the Wildlife Portraits category. The elephant, estimated at 12 years old, was seen carrying the calf in a muddy stretch of the park’s southern plains, a scene that was captured on a Canon EOS‑R5 with a 100‑mm prime lens. The competition’s official website lists both images
Coyotes actually thrive better in densely populated urban corridors than in many rural habitats, thanks to abundant food waste and fewer large predators.
