Incredible stuff (Picture: PA)
More than a dozen incredible images from the 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition have been released.
These 14 photos, which all received highly commended awards in their categories, have been released ahead of the winners’ awards ceremony on October 10.
They show a range of beautiful and striking scenes, from a deeply scarred fox to two storks hunting through the haze of a controlled fire.
Atsuyuki Ohshima took a snap of a macaque primate on the Japanese island of Yakushima as it leaped from a tree onto a deer.
Caitlin Henderson, who was able to catch a possum chowing down on insects in the middle of the night outside her balcony window in Queensland, Australia, said: ‘There were heads here, wings there.’
The scarred fox, who was photographed in a Kent rehabilitation centre, was injured in an attack – likely by dogs – and the two white storks were hunting in Kenyan bushland.
Race for life by Donglin Zhou, from China, which has been Highly Commended in the Behaviour: Mammals category (Picture: PA)
Coral connections by Alex Mustard, from the UK, which has been Highly Commended in the Under Water category (Picture: PA)
War cub by Michal Siarek, from Poland, which has been Highly Commended in the Photojournalism category(Picture: PA)
Fight to the death by Jasper Doest, from The Netherlands, which has been Highly Commended in the Photojournalism category (Picture: PA)
The catwalk by Shashwat Harish, from Kenya, which has been Highly Commended in the 11-14 Years category (Picture: PA)
Mason bee at work by Solvin Zankl, from Germany, which has been Highly Commended in the Behaviour: Invertebrates category (Picture: PA)
Mushroom magic by Agorastos Papatsanis, from Greece, which has been Highly Commended in the Plants and Fungi category (Picture: PA)
Coot on ice by Zhai Zeyu, from China, which has been Highly Commended in the 10 Years and Under category (Picture: PA)
Other photos show a mason bee making a twiggy home, a rare snow leopard hunting a Pallas’s cat in China, the intricate pattern of spores coming off of a mushroom in Greece, and a grumpy tiger cub being evacuated from eastern Ukraine.
The 59th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition received nearly 50,000 entries from 95 countries this year.
Photographers are judged anonymously on their creativity, originality, and technical skill.
The vanishing seal by Bruno D’Amicis, from Italy, which has been Highly Commended in the Natural Artistry category (Picture: PA)
Possum’s midnight snack by Caitlin Henderson, from Australia, which has been Highly Commended in the Urban Wildlife category (Picture: PA)
The face of the persecuted by Neil Aldridge, from South Africa, which has been Highly Commended in the Photojournalism category (Picture: PA)
Firebirds by Elza Friedlander, from Germany, which has been Highly Commended in the Behaviour: Birds category (Picture: PA)
Snow bison by Max Waugh, from the USA, which has been Highly Commended in the Animal Portraits category (Picture: PA)
Prize catch by Jef Pattyn, from Belgium and the Netherlands, which has been Highly Commended in the Oceans: The Bigger Picture category (Picture: PA)
Kathy Moran, chairwoman of the judging panel, said: ‘What most impressed the jury was the range of subjects, from absolute beauty, rarely seen behaviours and species to images that are stark reminders of what we are doing to the natural world.
‘We felt a powerful tension between wonder and woe that we believe came together to create a thought-provoking collection of photographs.’
An exhibition will run at the Natural History Museum from October 13 until June 30 next year, and afterward, there will be a UK and international tour of the photos.
Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said: ‘We are facing urgent biodiversity and climate crises and photography is a powerful catalyst for change.
‘The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition reveals some of nature’s most wondrous sights whilst offering hope and achievable actions visitors can take to help protect the natural world.’
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Check out these amazing pics from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition