The Aftermath is a photograph by Italian photographer Federico Veronesi that won the grand prize at the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. It also won the Behaviour: Mammals category.

Veronesi captured the image while tracking elephants in the Huab River Valley in Namibia. He noticed unusual drag marks in the sand of the dry riverbed. When he caught up to a family of elephants, he saw an adult female with a calf’s leg wedged between her tusk and trunk.

Kathy Moran, chair of the jury for the 2026 competition, described the photo as working on “so many levels.” She wrote in a news release announcing the winners: “Emotionally it’s a gut punch, heartbreakingly poignant. Intellectually, it’s proof that animals have cognition.”

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the U.K.-based Natural History Museum in London. The 2026 competition was the 62nd edition and attracted 65,403 entries from 121 countries and territories. It awards top prizes to both an adult photographer and a young photographer under 18.