Stunning images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year

‘Leopard gaze’ by Martin van Lokven: During a three-week stay in the Serengeti national park, Tanzania, the photographer encountered this female leopard called ‘Fundi’ several times. Late one afternoon, Fundi left the tree she was resting in and stopped by Martin’s car, staring him down 

‘The brothers’ by Marco Urso: Millions of salmon spawn each year at Kuril Lake in the southern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, attracting large numbers of brown bears. Marco noticed how curious these two brown bears were and was able to capture the moment when they both stood up on their hind legs to watch what he was doing

‘Sloth hanging out’ by Luciano Candisani: Luciano had to climb the cecropia tree, in the protected Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil, to take an eye-level shot of this three-toed sloth. Sloths like to feed on the leaves of these trees, and so they are often seen high up in the canopy

‘Dark side of the plains’ by Uri Golman: The photographer dedicated a whole week to black-and-white photography on the plains of the Maasai Mara, Kenya, and had spent many days taking pictures of big cats. After a long day he suddenly came across six giraffes walking in formation. He decided to follow them for a while, and when three broke off and headed into the shadows he took this remarkable shot

‘Roller rider’ by Lakshitha Karunarathna: Lakshitha was on safari in Maasai Mara national reserve, Kenya, when he spotted an unusual sight – a lilac-breasted roller riding a zebra. Normally they prefer to perch high up in the foliage, but this roller spent an hour or more riding around and enjoying the occasional insect meal

‘Hammerhead’ by Adriana Basques: The photographer had the advantage of a sunny day and good visibility with ample natural lighting. When a school of cottonmouth jacks came into view. a hammerhead soon appeared and stayed just long enough for her to capture a full frame with the school of cottonmouths in the background

‘Kick back and chill’ by Alan Chung: After more than two hours hiking with rangers in Volcanoes national park, Rwanda, Alan came across the ‘Hirwa’ family group (meaning ‘the lucky one’). This group of 16 mountain gorillas is led by a single strong silverback. They were feeding on young bamboo shoots and relaxing in a leafy open spot

‘Neck and neck’ by David Lloyd: The photographer managed to capture the giraffes of Kenya’s Maasai Mara national reserve against a white, overcast sky, but he still opted to shoot a little closer and, adjusting the exposure, caught the intimate moment of a giraffe grooming its companion

‘Grooming the descendant’ by Claudio Contreras Koob: This fluffy Caribbean flamingo chick is less than five days old and is being preened by one of its parents in the Ría Lagartos biosphere reserve, in Yucatán, Mexico. Chicks remain in the nest for less than a week; they then wander around the colony in crèches and start to feed for themselves, although their parents still continue to feed them for several months. The flamingo colony is highly sensitive to human presence, so Claudio could only approach the colony on all fours while hiding underneath a camo throw-over

‘Settled in’ by Ryan Miller: Moose are not strangers to the city of Anchorage, Alaska. This big bull is known as Hook, and Ryan knew from the previous year that he would be shedding his antler crown in the coming days. Ryan captured this scene in heavy snowfall as the rest of the city slept, and less than an hour later Hook shed his first antler

‘Reach for the sky’ by Steven Blandin: The photographer was taking pictures of a small group of adult roseate spoonbills in a rookery in Tampa Bay, Florida, when he noticed a newcomer flying in from afar. With just enough time to back up a few steps, Steven photographed the bird landing exactly square to his camera with its wings in a stunning symmetrical U-shape

‘Elegant mother and calf’ by Ray Chin: Every year from July to late October southern humpback whales migrate north from their Antarctic feeding grounds to give birth in the warm sheltered waters off Tonga. Ray encountered this humpback mother and calf floating in the plankton-filled water around the island group of Vava’u, Tonga. He later converted the image into black and white which he felt represented the simplicity of the scene

‘Pikin and Appolinaire’ by Jo-Anne McArthur: Pikin, a lowland gorilla, had been captured and was going to be sold for bushmeat but was rescued by Ape Action Africa. Jo-Anne took this photograph as the gorilla was being moved from her former enclosure within a safe forest sanctuary in Cameroon. She was first sedated, but during the transfer to the new enclosure she awoke. Luckily, she was not only very drowsy, but she was also in the arms of her caretaker, Appolinaire Ndohoudou, and so she remained calm for the duration of the bumpy drive

‘Warm embrace’ by Debra Garside: When polar bear mothers and cubs emerge from their dens in the early spring, the cubs stay close to their mothers for warmth and protection. Debra waited six days near the den of this family, in Wapusk national park, Manitoba, Canada, before they finally emerged. In the most challenging conditions she has ever faced, temperatures ranged from -35C (-31F) to -55C (-67F) with high winds, making it almost impossible to avoid frostbite and keep her camera gear functioning properly

‘Bloody ivory’ by Peter Chadwick: In a protected area of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a ranger’s bloody hand rests on a heavily grained ivory tusk, also covered in the blood of an African elephant. The bull had to be destroyed due to a severe tusk infection that couldn’t be treated

‘Pool party’ by Luke Massey: As the drought in Zambia’s South Luangwa national park stretched on, the waterholes dwindled to pools. Flocks of Lilian’s lovebirds congregated together and when the coast was clear they descended to this pool. They shuffled forward, taking it in turns to drink and bathe, as if on a conveyor belt

‘Holding on’ by Jami Tarris: This close-up captures the touching moment an infant lays its small hand in the big hand of its mother. Jami took this photograph while she was in Borneo working on a story about the effects of palm-oil agriculture on orangutan habitat. Loss of primary rainforest is a serious threat to this already critically endangered species

‘Cleaning session’ by Jordi Chias Pujol: The protected waters around Carall Bernat, Medes Islands, Spain, are admired for their marine diversity and are popular with divers. Jordi knows of an area where sunfish visit in the spring to be cleaned by Mediterranean rainbow wrasses and other small wrasses. The sunfish adopt an upright position, signalling to the wrasses that they are ready. Jordi was able to approach and take a shot while the wrasses went to work picking off the skin parasites

‘Land of snow and ice’ by Josh Anon: The photographer was on a boat in a fjord across from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, and encountered this polar bear walking along the edge of the ice. She was curious, walking past the boat twice – just long enough for Josh to take a shot with her white coat glowing in the setting sun

‘The nightcap’ by Charl Senekal: The photographer waited at a waterhole during the dry season and captured a herd of zebra in South Africa’s Zimanga game reserve, with the still conditions resulting in a near-perfect reflection

‘Shaking off’ by Connor Stefanison: Approximately every five years an eruption of snowy owls makes its way down from the Arctic, where they breed, to the Pacific north-west of North America, and congregates in areas like Delta, British Columbia. Connor captured this owl head-on as it was shaking off its feathers on a rainy winter day

‘Warning wings’ by Mike Harterink: Diving off Blue Bead Hole, St Eustatius, Caribbean, Mike used a slow shutter speed to capture the motion of this ‘flying’ gurnard. The fish’s large pectoral fins are divided into a shorter forward fin with spines, which it uses to ‘walk’ around and to poke the ocean floor for food, and a larger wing-like part. The fins are usually held against its body but, when threatened, the fish expands them to scare away predators

‘What are you looking at?’ by Jan Kolbe: Jan spotted this small southern whitefaced owl in a tree at a campsite in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. These owls have black-tipped ‘ear’ tufts and usually lay their eggs in the old nests of other birds. Jan was able to frame a shot of this striking bird looking down at him

‘Beauty and the beast’ by Eva Haußner: Eva was trying to get the perfect shot of this unbelievably colourful blue featherleg dragonfly in Bad Alexandersbad, Bavaria, Germany, when suddenly a fly appeared. It clung to the dragonfly briefly before flying off, but luckily returned and gave her this unusual photo opportunity