earthlingBond in Motion: The striking eyes of a curious lion-tailed macaque and its infant are on display as it races along a path.
Photograph: Lalith Ekanayake/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Hold Me Tightly
A brown-throated three-toed sloth cradles her young in her arms to shelter it from the rain.
Photograph: Dvir Barkay/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Ready to Pounce
An ambush bug nymph waits motionless on a flower for prey to wander within reach.
Photograph: Joseph Ferraro/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Along for the Ride
A juvenile swimming crab hitches a ride on a jellyfish.
Photograph: Chris Gug/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A Fragile Future
A pangolin pup nestles into the warmth of a blanket at a rescue centre in South Africa. Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked animals.
Photograph: Lance van de Vyver/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Dark Knight
A tiger wanders a reserve deep in Similipal Odisha, India. The tiger, named T12, has pseudo-melanism, a rare genetic condition where its dark stripes are wider. A decade ago, there were *fewer than seven tigers* left in the reserve and T12 was *the only known male*, but against all odds, he has fathered new generations. This image offers us a powerful symbol of survival and hope.
Photograph: Prasenjeet Yadav/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Into the Furnace
A sun bear shelters from the rain in a furnace as a butterfly settles on its snout. A sign on the furnace reads ‘evolution’. Mogens says this is indeed a type of evolution – a wild animal’s opportunistic response to humans disturbing its natural habitat.
Photograph: Mogens Trolle/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Family Rest
A polar bear and her three cubs pause in the summer heat, resting after their long journey north along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada. Shrinking sea ice is making it harder for polar bears to hunt and find food to survive in summer.
Photograph: Christopher Paetkau/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The Final Portrait
A polar bear cub looks into the camera as it accompanies its mother on an unsuccessful hunting trip. There’s a sad story behind this picture, taken on the coast of Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Soon after it was taken, the polar bear and its family went too close to an area of huts, and people forced them away.
Photograph: Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Portrait of Extinction
Ugandan wildlife rangers stand in front of pile of snares confiscated over a year in Murchison Falls national park.
Photograph: Adam Oswell/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Beak-to-Beak
A sarus crane shares an intimate moment with its one-week-old chick.
Photograph: Ponlawat Thaipinnarong/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Uniqueness
A leucistic otter feeds on a catfish in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. #Leucism, a lack of melanin, resulting in pale or white fur. Animals with this condition can be more vulnerable because they don’t have their normal camouflage.
Photograph: Daniela Anger/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Beauty Against the Beast
Flamingos stand out against a stark industrial backdrop. This image shows how spaces designated to protect wildlife carry the signs of human expansion.
Photograph: Alexandre Brisson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Swirling Superpod
A spectacular super pod of spinner dolphins herds lanternfish towards the surface of the ocean.
Photograph: Cecile Gabillon/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Never-ending Struggle
A sika deer with the severed head of a rival male that died in their battle skewered on its antler.
Photograph: Kohei Nagira/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A Leap into Adulthood
Three young kestrels prepare to leap from their nest to a nearby beam.
Photograph: Peter Lindel/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Above and Below
A brushtail possum joey mirrors its mother climbing a branch while out foraging.
Photograph: Charles Davis/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Precious Cargo
A cellar spider, also known as a daddy long-legs, carries a ball of eggs in its mouth.
Photograph: Thomas Hunt/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Couple’s Camouflage
A tiny male sits on the abdomen of a well-camouflaged female broad-headed bark spider, waiting until she moults and is ready to mate.
Photograph: Artur Tomaszek/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A Fleeting Moment
An elusive rufous-vented ground cuckoo plucks up a cicada in the depths of the rainforest in Costa Rica.
Photograph: Lior Berman/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Marvellous Spatuletail
A male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird shows off its long tail while it feeds on flowers.
Photograph: Dustin Chen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Stef ✨