The Iberian lynx, the great Mediterranean cat, one of the Iberian Peninsula’s most valuable species, is the star of the year’s best wildlife photograph, according to the prestigious competition ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026’ of the Natural History Museum in London, about which we recently published the list of 24 finalist photographs. In one of them, we saw a young Iberian lynx slip into view, playing with prey before killing it. It was the photograph by Austrian Josef Stefan, who said he had been wanting to photograph it for a long time. This is how this adventurer and animal lover ended up in Torre de Juan Abad, Ciudad Real.
As they state from the contest, held since 1965, ‘Flying Rodent’ took first place ahead of 23 other shortlisted photographs, all chosen from 60,636 entrants from 113 countries. It was the jury of professionals from the Natural History Museum in London who selected the winner, with whom we were able to speak to produce this article.
“Winning the ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year – Nuveen People’s Choice Award 2026’ is a dream come true for me. It fills me with immense joy and pride to be at the pinnacle of such a prestigious competition. Thanks to the patience and the countless hours I spent outdoors with my camera, I was able to capture many unique moments and demonstrate the contribution that nature photography can make: to raise awareness, draw attention to endangered species, and thus promote their protection. My recognition has increased considerably in my country, Austria, and I am glad that so many people now appreciate my work, and especially my commitment to conservation of nature and species.”
