Spanish lynx photo from 2026 captivates the world and wins the “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” award
A photograph of a young Iberian lynx playing with its prey won the top prize at Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. The image, titled “Flying Rodent”, was noted both for its composition and for its connection to conservation efforts for the Iberian lynx.
Catching a fleeting moment
In “Flying Rodent”, a young Iberian lynx is shown in a scene that is at once fierce and playful. After catching a mouse, the lynx tosses it into the air, a behaviour that lasted about 20 minutes and shows hunting instinct alongside play. The picture captures that brief episode and its detail.
The image was taken in Torre de Juan Abad (in the province of Ciudad Real, Spain). This area, together with Andalusia, Castilla‑La‑Mancha and Extremadura, forms part of the lynx’s main range on the Iberian Peninsula (covering Spain and Portugal).
A photographer’s two-week wait
Josef Stefan, an Austrian photographer, spent two weeks tracking the elusive Iberian lynx, waiting and moving between sites to increase his chances. As he put it, “This is one of the most threatened species of felines in the world, and that was precisely what attracted me.”
Stefan used a Nikon fitted with a 600 mm telephoto lens. His persistence and timing were key to capturing that rare mix of hunting and play.
Why the award matters
Presented by the Natural History Museum, London, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 prize saw Stefan’s photograph beat more than 60,000 entries from around the world, with 24 finalists in the final round. The image also won the People’s Choice Award, backed by tens of thousands of public votes.
As Stefan points out, nature photography can raise awareness about endangered species and encourage their protection. He says his picture goes beyond aesthetics, is seen as representing hope and responsibility and can prompt people to get involved.
How the Iberian lynx made a comeback
At the start of the 2000s the Iberian lynx was perilously close to extinction, with fewer than 100 individuals. Thanks to conservation efforts such as LIFE Iberlince, numbers have climbed to over 2,400, according to a 2025 report by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). That recovery has been driven by habitat restoration and measures to ensure enough food, notably the rebound of the rabbit population.
Threats remain: road collisions, habitat loss and food shortages continue to pose problems. The WWF warns that while the recovery is notable, it is fragile and far from guaranteed.
The story of the Iberian lynx and Stefan’s award-winning photo highlights the role of sustained conservation work and the use of photography to draw attention to it. As environmental pressures continue, such stories can encourage consideration and further action to protect vulnerable species.