Imre Potyó wins European Wildlife Photographer of the Year with mold and bat guano image
Hungarian photographer Imre Potyó has won the overall European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition with an image depicting pin mold growing on bat guano. The German Society for Nature Photography runs the annual contest, which selected the winning photograph from more than 26,000 entries submitted by amateur and professional photographers across 46 countries.
A historic win for the Plants and Fungi category
Judges selected the top photograph from the Plants and Fungi category, marking the first time in the 26-year history of the competition that the overall winner emerged from this classification. Potyó captured the image, titled Hidden Worlds
, during a controlled bat count without disturbing the animals. The frame shows pin mold thriving on guano while hibernating bats rest in the background. Tom Gilks, one of the competition jurors, stated that the photograph illustrates how much of life exists beyond immediate human awareness in seldom-visited places. He added that bats, fungi, and microorganisms form a quiet web of relationships that sustains life out of sight.
Category winners across nature and wildlife
The international jury awarded category prizes and runner-up positions to numerous other photographers. Jan Wieczorek won the Birds category with Secret paths
, while Jonas Janss Haugli claimed the runner-up spot with National bird
. In the Mammals category, Lorenzo Shoubridge secured first place with The cat and a thousand lanterns
. Christian Morawitz won the Other Animals category with Spider universe
, and Imre Potyó earned a runner-up finish in the same group with In the moonlight
.
Fortunato Gatto took the Plants and Fungi category win with Forest at the edge
, followed by Daniel Böttcher as runner-up with Lined up
. Antje Kreienbrink won the Landscapes category with Midnight
, and Orsolya Haarberg placed second with Umbra
. Angel Fitor captured the Underwater World win with Human-made catastrophe
, while Henley Spiers claimed both the runner-up spot with Turbulent feeding patch
and a highly commended finish for Playing by necessity
.
Petr Bambousek won the Humans and Nature category with Evolution
, with Lukas Schaefer taking second place for Helping hands
. Hermann Hirsch and Jan Leßmann shared the Nature’s Studio category win for Between the mountains
, and Florian Lottersberger placed as runner-up with Sea of broken glass
. In the younger demographics, Marla Schwarze won the Young Photographers up to 14 years category with Winter gold
, and Szymon Bartołd won the 15-17 years age group with Swan lake
.