The Mono Awards 2026 – Top 50, Animals Category
From intimate portraits of the animal kingdom to fleeting moments of drama in the wild, these are the Top 50 entries selected by our judges in this year's Animals category.
RELATED LINKS
The Mono Awards 2026 – Top 50, People Category
The Mono Awards 2026 – Top 50, Places Category
Australian Photography: The Mono Awards 2026 presented by Synology: The winners!
The Guardian: In black and white: the 2026 mono photography awards in pictures
Digital Camera World: It carried more emotional weight than i had realized...
Winner, Animals category
'Fever' by Brooke Pyke
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Brooke Pyke photographed around 100 mobula rays during an ocean safari in Baja, Mexico. The rays were moving across white sand, creating silhouettes and patterns that Pyke says provided an opportunity to explore the contrast between their shapes and the ripples below. |
Runner-up, Animals category
'Sniffing for Prey' by Leanne Silver
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Leanne Silver photographed a young female polar bear climbing onto an ice floe in the Arctic Circle. The bear spent time using the elevated position to gain height and sniff the air for prey, creating a distinctive wildlife moment in the summer sea ice. |
3rd, Animals category
'f/0.58' by John Peters
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John Peters' image features a female Deinopis subrufa, commonly known as a net-casting spider. Peters photographed the spider shortly after it had moulted, revealing an iris-like appearance in its posterior median eyes. |
4th, Animals category
'Fishermens Friend' by Emma Parker
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A pelican sits high on Bouddi's sculpted rocks in a storm, waiting to see if it can get scraps thrown by rock fishermen. |
5th, Animals category
'Rhino Landscape' by Debbie Hartley
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This closeup shot of a rhinoceros's craggy horns resembles a mountainous landsccape. |
6th, Animals category
'Inner Circle' by Gergo Rugli
7th, Animals category
'Symphony of Survival' by Jayathu Amarasinghe
8th, Animals category
'Sydney Arbor' by Rachelle Mackintosh
9th, Animals category
'Keeper of Storms' by Craig Turner-Bullock
10th, Animals category
'Penguin home' by Andrew Peacock
11th, Animals category
'Oxpecker Dialogues' by Abhik Basu
12th, Animals category
'Where's Wally' by Brooke Pyke
13th, Animals category
'Almost Human' by Lyndelle Connor
14th, Animals category
'Screen Time' by Ben Campbell
15th, Animals category
'Aquatic Velocity v3' by Jodie Grieve
16th, Animals category
'The Hungry Egret' by Robert Hallett
17th, Animals category
'South Georgia Snow Fields' by Jenny Power
18th, Animals category
'Mammoths come from Africa' by George Dian Balan
19th, Animals category
'Arion' by Ian Callaghan
20th, Animals category
'A Cut Above' by Maree Bendeich
21st, Animals category
'Full' by Chris Mathisen
22nd, Animals category
'A Sense of Control' by Craig Williams
23rd, Animals category
'The Throne' by Brooke Pyke
24th, Animals category
'Beached' by Shane Morris
25th, Animals category
'White-breasted Woodswallows' by Bronwyn Matthews
26th, Animals category
'Rare Portrait' by Remuna Beca
27th, Animals category
'Unexpected Snail' by Nikki Passchier
28th, Animals category
'White Stemmed Gum Moth' by Katie Turnbull
29th, Animals category
'Icy Dispute' by Alun Powell
30th, Animals category
'Three of a kind' by Richard Shaw
31st, Animals category
'A Pelican Brief' by Kerryn Buckley
32nd, Animals category
'The Pack' by Robert Smith
33rd, Animals category
'Rhino dehorning, South Africa' by Tony Sernack
34th, Animals category
'Zebra Clash' by Sarsha Rinkovec
35th, Animals category
'Unbroken Fury' by Tony law
36th, Animals category
'Snowflakes for breakfast' by Anne Algar
37th, Animals category
'The Huntsman' by Cam Blake
38th, Animals category
'Striking Distance' by Remuna Beca
39th, Animals category
'Chickens-Free Range' by Patrice Ryan
40th, Animals category
'Orbit' by June Zhao
41st, Animals category
'The Last Fence' by Chandika Kumarage Don
42nd, Animals category
'Olive backed sunbird building its nest' by Janice Terrill
43rd, Animals category
'The Silent Vigil' by Chandika Kumarage Don
44th, Animals category
'Woodpile Resident' by Alun Powell
45th, Animals category
'Incoming' by Mark Booth
46th, Animals category
'The Usual Suspects' by Suzanna Patton
47th, Animals category
'Settled in' by John Olewicz
48th, Animals category
'Octopus Dinner' by Sarah-Jayne Eggins
49th, Animals category
'First moments' by Sheree Jeldosev
50th, Animals category
'Free Spirit' by Leanne Riggs
