16 astonishing images from the 2026 Wildlife Photographer...

What’s Happening

Let’s talk about Playful bear cubs and a swirling superpod of dolphins compete for People’s Choice honors.

The post 16 astonishing images from the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards appeared first on Popular Science. Environment Animals Wildlife Bears 16 astonishing images from the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards Playful bear cubs and a swirling superpod of dolphins compete for Peoples Choice honors. (and honestly, same)

By Popular Science Team Published Feb 8, 2026 1:00 PM EST “Flying Rodent.

The Details

” Josef has wanted to photograph lynxes for a long time. He was delighted when the opportunity arose to spend two weeks observing them from a hide at Torre de Juan Abad, Ciudad Real, Spain.

It’s common for young lynxes to play with their prey before killing it. This one repeatedly threw the rodent high in the air and caught it again.

Why This Matters

To Josef, it looked as if the rodent could fly. The whole game lasted about 20 minutes before the lynx got bored. It then took the rodent behind a bush and ate it.

Scientists and researchers are watching this development closely.

The Bottom Line

The parent of this one week-old chick carefully cleaned it. Then, in a moment of intimacy, it made beak-to-beak contact and moved its beak around the chick’s for a while.

What do you think about all this?