Overview
- The museum published a public preview in late August of 100 shortlisted images selected from a record pool of more than 65,000 entries from 121 countries.
- An international jury judged entries anonymously on creativity, originality, technical excellence and storytelling and described this year’s field as unusually strong.
- Winners will be announced on October 13 and the full exhibition of winning images opens at the Natural History Museum on October 16 running through July 11, 2027.
- The shortlist includes emotionally charged and problem-focused photos that document natural behaviour and human impacts on animals, such as an oxpecker on a rhino, a polar bear peering into a seal hole, and a muzzled circus bear.
- Caption analysis of the preview highlights a gear trend with many images shot on older Nikon DSLRs such as the D500 and D850, and the museum plans educational elements in the show to link the images to biodiversity and conservation goals.