European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorA grave decision has been reached in Europe: the best wildlife photograph of the year is mould growing on bat droppings, the Popular Science report says.

2. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHibernating bats are in the background, and the photographer has shot them for thirteen years in restricted mine tunnels in Hungary.

3. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThirteen years in a restricted mine tunnel, and the mould had no clearance either.

4. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThirteen years of patience, and a fungus took the credit.

5. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentIt's the first time in the contest's twenty-six years that a Plants and Fungi image has won overall, DIY Photography notes.

6. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorI assume the bison's statement reads: we were extinct in the wild once, and this is how we're treated.

7. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThose bison were declared extinct in the wild by the early twentieth century. There are more than seven thousand two hundred now. They're doing fine.

8. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd then there's the bear in Thailand that climbed into a waste incinerator and fell asleep. The entry is titled Evolution.

9. 

   Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentIt's named after the incinerator maker's label. The bear didn't pick it. The bear was napping.

10. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorForty-six countries sent their best, and the jury has chosen to move forward with the mould.

11. 

    Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWe rate this mildly important, a mould out of ten.

12. 

    Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe mould has no comment. It does have first place.