Coming to the Fortress of Bard is the 61st edition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the exhibition sponsored by the Natural History Museum in London that brings together some of the most important contemporary wildlife photography. The exhibition will be on view from March 21 to July 12, 2026, and features a selection of images documenting the diversity of the natural world through striking visual languages. The exhibition will be opened and previewed on Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m.
The exhibition features photographs capable of restoring little-known animal behaviors, species of special interest and very different natural environments. The use of photography as a narrative tool enables the transmission of stories from different geographical contexts, with a focus also on issues of conservation and environmental protection. The edition of the competition, produced and organized by the Natural History Museum in London, recorded more than 60,000 entries, sent in by photographers of all ages and experience levels from 113 countries. The entries were subjected to an anonymous evaluation by an international jury, which considered criteria of creativity, originality and technical excellence.
The winning image for Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 is Ghost Town Visitor by South African photographer Wim van den Heever. The shot depicts a brown hyena inside Kolmanskop, an abandoned mining town in Namibia, among architectural remains and sand. The photograph was made with photo-trap technology and is the result of a 10-year wait that began after the animal’s tracks were first found. For the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025 category, the award went to Andrea Dominizi, the first Italian to win the prize in the under-17 bracket. His image, After the Destruction, documents the presence of a beetle of the family Cerambycidae in a deforested area of the Lepini Mountains, highlighting the consequences of habitat loss.
Other Italian participants honored included Philipp Egger, author of the winning shot Shadow Hunter in the Animal Portraits category, which depicts an eagle owl in the mountains of Naturno, in the province of Bolzano. Also receiving honorable mentions were Fortunato Gatto with The Frozen Swan in the category “Art of Nature,” Roberto Marchegiani with The Calm After the Storm andShadowlands in the category “Animals in their Environment,” and Gabriella Comi with Wake-up Call in the category “Behavior: Mammals.”
“As an advocate for the power of photography,” says Kathy Moran, chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year jury, “there is nothing more rewarding or exciting than seeing our relationship with the natural world, in all its complexity and splendor, shared on the world’s largest platform dedicated to wildlife photography.”
“Now in its 61st year,” says Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, "we are thrilled to continue to make Wildlife Photographer of the Year a powerful platform for visual storytelling, showcasing the diversity, beauty and complexity of the natural world and humanity’s relationship to it. With the inclusion of the Biodiversity Intactness Index, this year’s exhibition represents the best combination of great art and cutting-edge science, inspiring visitors to become advocates for our planet."
"Widlife Photogtapher of the Year is one of the cornerstones of the Forte’s exhibition offerings, expected each year by thousands of photography enthusiasts," continues Ornella Badery, president of the Forte di Bard. “The power of the images and the stories each one brings is the best way to raise awareness of issues related to the environment, flora and fauna that are increasingly endangered in every part of the world.”
Hours: weekdays: 10 a.m. | 6 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, holidays: 10 a.m. | 7 p.m.; closed Mondays
Rates
Full price: 15.00 euros
Reduced: 12.00 euros
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| Wildlife Photographer of the Year: award-winning images from the competition at the Fortress of Bard |
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