Striking Image of a Spanish Iberian Lynx Wins Global People’s Choice Award

A photograph of an Iberian lynx tossing its prey into the air has won the People's Choice Award at Wildlife Photographer of the Year, one of the world's most prestigious photography competitions organized annually by the Natural History Museum in London.

The image, titled "The Flying Rodent," was captured by Austrian photographer Josef Stefan. It received a record-breaking number of votes—more than 85,000.

While the main competition winners were announced back in October, the People's Choice Award is granted to the single image that garners the most support among 24 finalists. These nominees were hand-selected by a panel of experts in photography, wildlife, conservation, and science.

Stefan captured the moment near the Spanish town of Torre de Juan Abad, in the province of Ciudad Real, after spending two weeks in a hide observing the lynxes. The shot shows a young predator playing with a captured rodent, tossing it skyward before moving in for the kill—a common behavior for this species of wild cat. According to the photographer, this "game" lasted about 20 minutes before the lynx finally grew bored.

At the turn of the millennium, the Iberian lynx was on the brink of extinction, but intense conservation efforts have led to a remarkable recovery. According to the latest data from 2024, there are now more than 2,400 individuals across the Iberian Peninsula.

The judges also highlighted four other "Highly Commended" images: a group of flamingos against power lines in Namibia, a polar bear with her cubs in Canada, two bear cubs playing on a road, and a rare, stark shot of a deer carrying the head of a rival after a fight.

The top photographs from the competition will be on display at the Natural History Museum in London until 12 July.