The prestigious GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has revealed its 2026 champions, displaying the remarkable artistic scope of modern European nature photography.

Marking a first in the 26-year history of the event hosted by the German Society for Nature Photography (GDT), the top honor went to a piece in the Plants and Fungi category titled Hidden Worlds. Authored by Hungarian scientist and photographer Imre Potyó, the winning shot highlights a delicate pin mold thriving on bat guano against a backdrop of resting bats.

Potyó, an environmental expert and researcher, spent 13 years documenting hibernating bats within protected, restricted mine tunnels nestled in Hungary's Börzsöny Mountains.

This image speaks to a larger truth about the natural world: much of life exists beyond our immediate awareness, in places we seldom visit and among organisms we rarely notice, notes juror Tom Gilks.

The champion photograph alongside various category finalists, the Fritz Pölking Prize, and the Rewilding Europe Award were chosen from an impressive pool exceeding 26,000 entries submitted by both amateurs and professionals spanning 46 nations.

European Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Champions

Sharing his field experience, Potyó explains his decade-long dedication to monitoring Lesser Horseshoe bats. By observing their natural habits, he captured the moment a torchlight revealed a striking white mold coating accumulated guano with sleeping bats behind it, all achieved strictly without disturbing the wildlife during official counts.

Other notable entries span global landscapes, from a solitary European wildcat slipping through the night surrounded by fireflies in Italy's Alto Mugello, to striking scenes in Yellowstone National Park where a photographer tracked the elusive Wapiti wolf pack feeding along the Firehole River.

In Botswana's Chobe River floodplains, photographer Steel captured an African elephant wading peacefully through lilies fed by Angolian floodwaters, while Wieczorek documented vulnerable molting common cranes hiding safely in Polish wetlands near Olsztyn.

Underwater Wonders and Fragile Ecosystems

The competition also shed light on stark environmental realities. In Spain's Mar Menor lagoon, struggling Mediterranean jellyfish depict a severe ecological crisis brought on by decades of agricultural runoff and unchecked tourism.

Meanwhile, in the Galápagos Archipelago, photographer Spiers shadowed marine iguanas plunging into frigid surf to graze on algae, offering a rare look at the resilient reptiles navigating powerful ocean currents.

From the harsh tundra of Alaska recovering from wildfires to the remarkable resilience of false hellebores in Poland's Stolowe Mountains, this year's collection emphasizes the critical balance between nature's destruction and its ongoing renewal.