Urban beavers photograph from Olsztyn wins Rewilding Europe Award
A photograph of beavers thriving amid urban construction in Olsztyn, Poland, has won the 2026 Rewilding Europe Award.
A photograph titled 'Urban Beavers' by Polish photographer Jan Wieczorek has won the Rewilding Europe Award. The image captures beavers living in a river flowing through the northeastern Polish city of Olsztyn, surrounded by roads, railway lines, and new apartment block construction.
The award is a special annual category of the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, presented by Rewilding Europe in partnership with the German Society for Nature Photography. The winning photo juxtaposes fog-lit wetlands shaped by beavers with the cranes and roadways of urban development. These particular beavers have lived in the area for years.
Local support enables beaver thriving amid infrastructure
Jan Wieczorek has observed the Olsztyn beavers for approximately fifteen years. Despite the infrastructure crossing their territory, local residents and city authorities actively support the animals. This backing has contributed to a thriving and growing beaver population.
Their activity has created wetlands that support a wealth of other wildlife. The dams built by the beavers have helped restore the local water balance, and their presence has improved water quality in the river system.
Other commended images show broader rewilding successes across Europe
The competition's runner-up and highly commended photographs illustrate other European rewilding stories. The images highlight recovery efforts for species including European bison, hamsters, lobsters, and white-tailed eagles across various habitats.
| Photographer | Image Title | Subject & Location | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christoph Kaula (Runner-up) | Managed Revival | European hamster in a research project | Part of a project using captive breeding, genetic analysis, and habitat management to save the threatened species. |
| Fabian Thorand | Peaceful European Bison | Two bison in a meadow near Białowieża National Park, Poland | European bison, once extinct in the wild, now number over 10,000 individuals due to reintroduction. |
| Silke Hüttche | The Call of the Eagles | White-tailed eagles in Anklamer Stadtbruch, Germany | The 2,000-hectare rewetted peatland, created after a 1995 storm surge, hosts Germany's largest population of these eagles. |
| Lewis Jefferies | A New Generation | Staff releasing young European lobsters in Cornwall, England | The National Lobster Hatchery rears lobsters through vulnerable stages before release to complement fisheries management. |
Competition judge Viktoria Pezzei noted that the winning images capture how humans and wildlife can live side by side, helping people understand these relationships better. Last year's award winner, Jon A. Juarez, described rewilding as being about restorations, revivals, and shared human-wildlife spaces.
Rewilding is a dynamic conservation strategy that encourages the natural restoration of ecosystems. It aims to give nature room to thrive independently and mend human-induced damage. Rewetting peatlands, as seen in the German eagle sanctuary, also helps tackle climate change by locking up carbon.
The beavers in Olsztyn continue to shape wetlands that support diverse wildlife and improve water quality in the local river system.
