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Received — 16 October 2026 ⏭ The Atlantic

Photos of the Week: Rabbit Jumping, Floating Bazaar, Chief Mouser

✇The Atlantic
By: Alan Taylor
16 October 2026 at 14:00
A model poses outside, in front of a half-dozen passing hot-air balloons, wearing a flowing garment based on traditional designs.
İlkin Eskipehlivan / Anadolu / Getty
Traditional clothes and designs created by designers from across the Turkic world were showcased during the Cappadocia leg of the ninth Türksoy Women and Ethno-Fashion Meeting in Ürgüp, Nevşehir, Turkey, on October 9, 2026.
A riot police officer detains an injured protester with a bloodied face.
Hameraldi Agolli / AP
A riot police officer detains an injured protester during clashes near the Ministry of Education in Tirana, Albania, on October 13, 2026, joining a demonstration organized by the Flamingo protest movement demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
A person walks past a burning kiosk during a protest.
Florion Goga / Reuters
A person walks past a burning kiosk during clashes between police and demonstrators amid an anti-government protest by students in Tirana on October 15, 2026.
A tall tree stands in silhouette against smoke illuminated by a wildfire.
Bruno Kelly / Reuters
A deforested area of the Amazon rainforest burns during the dry season in the municipality of Autazes, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, on October 12, 2026.
A closed walkway spans across part of a large and complex waterfall that is overflowing with high water.
Kiko Sierich / Reuters
A walkway, closed for safety reasons, photographed during high water flow at Iguazu Falls in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná state, Brazil, on October 13, 2026
Storm waves crash into damaged beachfront homes.
Jae C. Hong / AP
Waves from Post-Tropical Storm Rachel crash into damaged beachfront homes in Long Beach, California, on October 12, 2026.
Many dozens of scooter and motorcycle riders jam into a queue at a gas station.
Johannes Christo / Reuters
Motorcyclists queue to refuel at a petrol station amid a fuel-supply shortage in Badung, Bali, Indonesia, on October 15, 2026.
Dozens of sailboats sail together in a harbor, seen behind an ornate lighthouse.
Alberto Pizzoli / AFP / Getty
Boats sail past Vittoria Light lighthouse at the start of the 58th Barcolana sailing regatta in the Gulf of Trieste on October 11, 2026.
An elevated view of a long road bridge shrouded in hazy smoke.
Edmar Barros / AP
The Jornalista Phelippe Daou Bridge is shrouded in smoke from wildfires in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on October 9, 2026.
A Blue Angels jet aircraft flies past, generating a cone-shaped condensation cloud.
Jeff Chiu / AP
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly during the San Francisco Fleet Week Air Show, on October 9, 2026.
A firefighting helicopter flies above a fire crew on a hillside.
David Swanson / AFP / Getty
An L.A. County Fire helicopter flies above crews fighting the Bike Fire on the outskirts of Santa Clarita, California, on October 11, 2026.
Many birds perch on a power transmission tower.
AFP / Getty
Migratory birds perch on a power-transmission tower on the Yellow River floodplain in Yueyahu township in Yinchuan, in China’s northern Ningxia region, on October 10, 2026.
Two acrobats swing upside-down from ropes attached to a tall pool on a rocky beach.
Fernando Llano / AP
The Flying Men of Papantla perform the “Danza de los Voladores” on the beach as Hurricane Simon approaches Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on October 10, 2026.
Two tram cars hang beneath a suspended railway above a river.
Halil Sagirkaya / Anadolu / Getty
The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn suspension railway carries passengers above the Wupper River in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on October 11, 2026.
A young child drives a small pink electric car on a road open to pedestrians.
Ellen Schmidt / AP
Bryanna Sarmiento cruises on the Stillwater Lift Bridge in her electric car during the annual Harvest Festival in Stillwater, Minnesota, on October 11, 2026.
A person works aboard a small boat amid many spherical floats in an abalone farm.
AFP / Getty
An aquaculture worker navigates a boat through an abalone-farming area to carry out maintenance work in Guanwu village, Lianjiang county, in China’s Fujian province, on October 13, 2026.
Many people sit and stand in dozens of small boats during a floating bazaar.
Thein Zaw / AP
Locals row their boats at a local floating bazaar in Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar, on October 13, 2026.
Soldiers carry long guns and heavy gear as they wade through waist-deep water.
Juni Kriswanto / AFP / Getty
Members of the Australian Defence Force take part in the “Keris Woomera” joint military drills with Indonesian marines at Banongan beach in Situbondo on October 15, 2026.
A car-shaped river taxi carries passengers down a river.
Khaled Desouki / AFP / Getty
A car-shaped river taxi cruises along the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt, on October 15, 2026.
Sparks fly behind an F1 racing car.
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images / Getty
Sparks fly behind Pierre Gasly during sprint qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on October 9, 2026.
Two workers wield hammers at a sword-making forge, with one striking hot metal and sending up a shower of sparks.
VCG / Getty
Tourists visit a workshop at the Shen Guanglong Sword Casting Park to observe traditional sword-forging techniques on October 10, 2026, in Lishui, Zhejiang province, China.
Red deer stags battle each other during the annual rut.
Ian Forsyth / Getty
Red deer stags battle each other during the annual rut at Raby Castle on October 11, 2026, in Staindrop, England.
A life-sized dinosaur statue is loaded onto the low bed of a truck, as people watch.
David Ebener / DPA / Getty
A life-size Camarasaurus made of steel and concrete is transported from its previous location at the Barkhausen dinosaur trails in Bad Essen to Damme, Germany, on October 11, 2026.
A leashed rabbit hops over an obstacle during a competition.
Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP / Getty
A rabbit hops over an obstacle as its handler guides it during the long-jump competition at the European Rabbit Jumping Championships in Lysekil, Sweden, on October 9, 2026. The three-day championship featured several disciplines, including straight-course jumping and high jump.
A gray-and-white cat sits outside 10 Downing Street in London.
Henry Nicholls / AFP / Getty
Larry the cat, the chief mouser to the Cabinet Office, poses outside 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain’s prime minister, on October 14, 2026.
A handler pets a highland cow during an exhibition.
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty
A handler pets a cow at the 129th Highland Cattle Society autumn show and sale on October 11, 2026, in Oban, Scotland.
An aerial view of a seaside neighborhood with a long and curving pier.
Ulises Ruiz / AFP / Getty
An aerial view of the Zona Romántica (“Romantic Zone”), a tourist district in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco state, Mexico, seen on October 12, 2026
An elevated view of people rafting on a river in a steep valley, surrounded by trees in fall colors
Sergei Gapon / AFP / Getty
Tourists take a traditional rafting trip on the Dunajec River aboard a wooden raft guided by local raftsmen near the village of Sromowce Niżne, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, on October 13, 2026.

© İlkin Eskipehlivan / Anadolu / Getty

Traditional clothes and designs created by designers from across the Turkic world were showcased during the Cappadocia leg of the ninth Türksoy Women and Ethno-Fashion Meeting in Ürgüp, Nevşehir, Turkey, on October 9, 2026.
Received — 15 October 2026 ⏭ The Atlantic

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026

✇The Atlantic
By: Alan Taylor
15 October 2026 at 17:35
An elephant splashes water toward zebras and a giraffe at a watering hole.
© James Lewin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The Meeting Place. Winner, Animals in Their Environment. James Lewin watched a young bull elephant spray a group of zebra as they congregated in the Kenyan Chyulu Hills. Although there was no shortage of subjects and action around this waterhole, James had to deal with the harsh, unforgiving light. He chose to soften the light using a camera converted to infrared, creating this dreamlike scene.
A newt grasps a clutch of eggs that are attached to plant stalks underwater.
© Anton Sorokin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Protective Pose. Winner, Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles. Anton Sorokin found a California newt laying its eggs as it clasped vegetation that already held another newt’s egg clutch.
A view of a dividing dam in Utah’s Great Salt Lake, with two different bodies of water seen in varying hues of pink
© Alex Visbal / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The Great Divide. Winner, Wetlands: The Bigger Picture. Alex Visbal documented how a single engineered line can reshape an entire wetland in Utah’s Great Salt Lake. The distinctive pink color on the left is caused by bright-pink microbes that thrive in extremely saline water, which happens when an area is cut off from a supply of fresh water. The lake’s ecology is in sharp decline because of industrial use, upstream diversions, and climate change. Since this image was taken, the State of Utah has brought the area under conservation management.
A coyote pads along a trail in a park overlooking San Francisco.
© Loren Elliott / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
On the Outskirts. Winner, Photojournalist Story Award. A coyote pads along a trail in Bernal Heights Park, overlooking the city and bay of San Francisco. This individual is part of a resident pack that Loren Elliott observed hunting rodents in the park, which is also popular with people and dogs.
A pair of mating Moray eels, seen against a black background, underwater
© Tony Wu / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Making Morays. Winner, Under Water. Tony Wu provides a first-time glimpse into the mating ritual of Abbott’s moray eels. Wu has been working with biologists to address a knowledge gap of the social behavior of this eel species. Guided only by a dim red-light source to minimize disturbance, and using a customized fisheye camera lens, he has studied this male since 2024 as it visits females that dwell in crevices on the reef.
Two clusters of slime molds—tiny greenish spheres at the end of thin stalks
© Kutub Uddin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Tiny Dancers. Winner, Portfolio Award. Kutub Uddin reveals a magical and often surreal world of slime molds that can barely be seen with the naked eye. Fine threads, known as capillitium, emerge on the round, yellow-green bodies, which will eventually help disperse reproductive spores.
A dead puma, tied to the top of a fence in a wide-open field
© Francisco Negroni / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Warning Sign. Winner, Photojournalism. Francisco Negroni recorded this scene of a dead puma amid the rugged, windswept beauty of Argentine Patagonia. Tied to the fence and presented as a hunting trophy, this display was one that Francisco had “never witnessed or photographed before.” In 2025, Santa Cruz banned the hunting of pumas, but illegal persecution continues.
An octopus peers out from behind leafy kelp.
© Aaron Sanders / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A Watchful Eye. Winner, Animal Portraits. Aaron Sanders glimpsed a common octopus behind a curtain of kelp in the waters off southwest England. Sanders was diving off Porthkerris Beach when he noticed the footprints of octopus suckers through a thin blade of kelp, and a single eye slowly emerging. “We remained perfectly still, watching one another with a seemingly shared curiosity,” Sanders said.
A swarm of tiny flies hovers near a dung beetle that is pushing a clump of dung.
© Oscar Whitfield / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Labour of Love. Winner, 11-14 Years, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. Oscar Whitfield noticed the arduous exertion of this dung beetle pushing its precious cargo. Using a fast shutter speed and high light sensitivity, Oscar lay flat on the ground to photograph the beetle at eye level, with the sunshine and heat creating dry dust all around him.
An overhead view of a whale shark investigating the catch of a mobile net-fishing platform
© Alex Lindbloom / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Night-Time Catch. Winner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture. Alex Lindbloom found a whale shark investigating the catch of a “bagan,” or mobile net-fishing platform, in the inky waters off Papua. Alex started searching for sharks around dawn when the nets were still in the water. Initially lacking natural light for his drone’s camera, he found these sharks illuminated by the bagan’s bright lights.
A pair of shoebill storks carry plant material in their beaks in a wetland area.
© Isak Pretorius / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Scenes from the Swamp. Winner, Behaviour: Birds. Isak Pretorius chanced across two elusive shoebill storks among wetland vegetation. Exploring the swamp in a narrow canoe with a guide, Isak felt exceptionally lucky to see not one but two shoebills. The birds pulled out vegetation, dropped it, and then repeated the process several times. It’s likely that this was a breeding pair gathering nesting material.
An adult elephant carries the lifeless body of an elephant calf with its trunk and tusks.
© Federico Veronesi / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The Aftermath. Winner, Behavior: Mammals, and Overall Winner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. Federico Veronesi witnessed this powerful moment of an elephant carrying a dead calf, a rare glimpse into complex animal behaviors. Veronesi was tracking elephants when he came across an unusual pattern of drag marks in the sand of a dry riverbed. The source became clear when he caught up with a family group. A female emerged with the calf, its leg wedged between her tusk and trunk. Behaviors centering on death have been observed in both Asian and African elephants, including vocalizations, guarding the dead, inspecting and handling bones, and carrying the deceased. Some researchers suggest these behaviors could indicate an elephant’s journey to understanding death, while others interpret these actions as possible displays of grief.
A flock of flying birds appears blurred against a backdrop of bare birch trees.
© Michał Michalski / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Escape Artistry. Winner, Natural Artistry. Michał Michalski used a slow shutter speed to create the illusion of trees still swathed in autumn foliage. Michalski was in a field of unharvested sunflowers that had attracted mixed flocks of birds, especially goldfinches and bramblings. As they took to the sky, startled by a sparrowhawk, Michalski blurred the movement against a backdrop of leafless birches.
A scorpion kicks up grains of sand as it burrows in the desert at night.
© Sitaram Raul / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Shifting Sand. Winner, Behavior: Invertebrates. Sitaram Raul encountered a scorpion burrowing into one of the shifting dunes of the Thar Desert in India. Exploring the dunes at night near the village of Sam, Raul saw many scorpions searching for prey. But as sunrise approached, they started burrowing to avoid the intense heat. Raul timed the exposure so that the excavated sand was suspended in midair.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum in London. Captions are provided by the photographers and WPY organizers, and are lightly edited for style.

© © James Lewin / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

“The Meeting Place.” Winner, Animals in Their Environment. James Lewin watched a young bull elephant spray a group of zebras as they congregated in the Kenyan Chyulu Hills.
Received — 13 October 2026 ⏭ The Atlantic

Photos: Fall Is in the Air

✇The Atlantic
By: Alan Taylor
13 October 2026 at 20:53
A bull moose walks through shrubs, some showing fall colors.
Stan Grossfeld / The Boston Globe / Getty
A bull moose emerges from the deep woods somewhere in northern Maine, on September 26, 2026.
Trees display autumn colors on a mountainside.
VCG / Getty
Trees display autumn colors in Huanggangliang, in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on September 18, 2026.
A person shows the effort on their face as they paddle a giant pumpkin to the finish line of a race.
Ellen Schmidt / AP
Laura Fairchild paddles a giant pumpkin to the finish line in the Pumpkin Regatta, part of the annual Harvest Fest in Stillwater, Minnesota, on October 11, 2026.
Two children run into a corn maze.
Libby March / The Buffalo News / Getty
Siblings Charlotte and E. J. Taylor run into the corn maze at Bippert’s Farms outside Buffalo, New York, on September 27, 2026.
Fall colors appear among low shrubs along a mountain path.
Annika Hammerschlag / AP
Fall colors along a hiking path in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, near Mazama, Washington, on October 8, 2026
Spiderwebs glisten in a meadow against the backlight of the rising sun.
Thomas Warnack / DPA / Getty
Spiderwebs in a meadow glisten in the early-morning light, in Uttenweiler, Germany, on September 26, 2026.
A person wearing waders fishes at the base of a broad waterfall.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty
A person fishes at the base of Ithaca Falls in Ithaca, New York, on October 12, 2026.
A red squirrel peeks out from behind a mossy tree trunk.
Gerd Harder / DPA / Reuters
A red squirrel peeks out from behind a mossy tree trunk, somewhere in Germany, on October 8, 2026.
Visitors take photos of a 'King Kong' figure made of pumpkins.
Markus Schreiber / AP
Visitors take photos of a King Kong figure made of pumpkins and wood at the “Pumpkin Goes to Hollywood” exhibition at the Asparagus and Adventure Farm in Klaistow, near Berlin, Germany, on September 17, 2026.
A shepherd leads a herd of alpacas down a mountain path.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
Alpacas follow a shepherd during the traditional Alpabzug, in German, or Désalpe, in French, a Swiss festival to mark the return of herds from mountain pastures, in the Griesalp area above Kiental, on September 22, 2026.
A man in a cowboy hat casts a shadow on a giant pumpkin.
Benjamin Fanjoy / Getty
Brian Evans with his family’s entry at the 53rd Annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on October 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, California
A cyclist rides on a broad mountain trail past trees in autumn colors.
Larry Clouse / CSM / ZUMA Press Wire / Reuters
A cyclist rides the Golden Gravel Trail through brilliant autumn colors along the western slope of the Great Divide in the Uncompahgre National Forest, near Paradox, Colorado, on September 24, 2026.
A historic riverside building, covered in Virginia creeper that has started to change into red autumnal colors
Peter Byrne / PA Images / Getty
The Tu Hwnt I’r Bont Tea Rooms is covered in bright Virginia creeper, in Llanrwst, North Wales, on October 2, 2026.
A child looks for a pumpkin among hundreds spread out over a field.
Jim Franco / Albany Times Union / Getty
Benjamin Bojadzija looks for the perfect pumpkin at Engelke Farm in Troy, New York, on October 7, 2026.
The Northern Lights light up the sky above the ruins of a castle.
Owen Humphreys / PA Images / Getty
The northern lights above the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, on the Northumberland coast of England, on October 11, 2026
Two cyclists ride past a bellowing deer stag.
Brook Mitchell / Getty
A deer stag bellows at sunrise during the annual rut in Richmond Park, London, on October 8, 2026.
Sunflowers and purple flowers cover a field, seen under a partly-cloudy sky.
Patrick Pleul / DPA / Getty
Sunflowers and purple-flowering phacelia glow in the autumn sun in a field near Jacobsdorf, Germany, on October 12, 2026.
An aerial view of a wide mountain slope covered in fall-colored trees
Lokman Vural Elibol / Anadolu / Getty
An aerial view of vibrant red, orange, and yellow leaves transforming the landscape in Westmore, Vermont, on October 3, 2026
Five beets, carved like Jack-o'-lanterns
Thomas Warnack / DPA / Getty
Illuminated “beet ghosts” outside a house in Riedlingen, Germany, on October 11, 2026. The fall tradition uses the vegetable as pumpkins are used for jack-o’-lanterns.
A heron flies over a foggy river.
Thomas Warnack / DPA / Getty
A grey heron flies above the Danube in morning fog near Riedlingen, Germany, on October 11, 2026.
A person tosses autumn leaves into the air.
Joaquin Corchero / Europa Press / Getty
A person tosses autumn leaves into the air in Seville, in the Andalusia region of Spain, on September 23, 2026.

© Stan Grossfeld / The Boston Globe / Getty

A bull moose emerges from the deep woods somewhere in northern Maine, on September 26, 2026.
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