Stefan Christmann / Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) preparing to jump over crack in sea ice. Atka Bay, Antarctica. August.

Ann & Steve Toon / RF - Leopard female (Panthera pardus) watched by two Gemsbok (Oryx gazella), Kgalagadi transfrontier park, South Africa, June. (This image may be licensed either as rights managed or royalty free.)

Wim van den Heever / Whooper swans (Cygnus cygnus) juvenile with adults behind, on frozen Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan. February.

Ann & Steve Toon / Banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) drinking, Zimanga Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, May

Alex Mustard / Portrait of a Severn's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus severnsi) at Mioskon Island, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Dampier Strait. Tropical West Pacific Ocean.

Alex Mustard / Hairy pipehorse (Acentronura dendritica) female swimming over the seabed with her prehensile tail in the air. Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman, Cayman Islands. Caribbean Sea.

Fiona Rogers / Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurtheii) female 'Gremlin' aged 40 years holding female baby aged 2, her granddaughter. Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Gremlin took the new born baby from he...

Fabrice Cahez / Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) cub walking in grass, ,Vosges, France, May.

Richard Kirby / Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) mother and calves, Svalbard, Norway, February.

Tony Heald / Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus entellus) baby next to mother, Bandhavgarh National Park, India.

Staffan Widstrand / Wild boar (Sus scrofa) in old mixed conifer and broadleaf forest, Punia Forest Reserve, Lithuania, May.

Richard Robinson / Blue shark (Prionace glauca) viewed from below, off the coast of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, February.

Sven Zacek / Four Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) bucks with velvet antlers and the shadow of a fifth buck, Tartumaa, Estonia, March.

Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) pups playing outside of den, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.

Bruno D'Amicis / Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) ears above sand dunes, Grand Erg Oriental, Kebili Governorate. Tunisia.

Dong Lei / Crocodile newt (Tylototriton verrucosus) Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve, Tengchong county, Yunnan Province, China. May.

Andy Rouse / Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) in urban environment Cardiff, UK

Solvin Zankl / Tiny crab on Broad-toothed Gulfweed (Sargassum fluitans) Sargassum Community. Sargasso Sea, Bermuda

Pete Oxford / Galapagos land iguana (Conolophus subcristatus) walking, South Plaza Island, Galapagos. Endemic.

Nick Upton / Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) on Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) flowerhead after release, Moulton, Northampton, UK, June.

Andy Rouse / Grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) Finland, September.

George Sanker / Purple gallinule (Porphyrula martinica) in mangrove swamp. Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. March.

Andrew Parkinson / Brown hare (Lepus europaeus) adult walking across a snow covered field. Derbyshire, UK, January.

Andrew Parkinson / Brown hare (Lepus europaeus) adult female skidding to a halt in a snow covered field, Derbyshire, UK, March.

Chris Mattison / Budgett's Frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) mostly submerged in muddy water, with eyes visible above water, captive, occurs in South America.

Gabriel Rojo / Puma (Puma concolor) hidden in vegetation, captive, La Pampa , Argentina

Gabriel Rojo / Wild puma (Puma concolor) walking across rocks, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.

Staffan Widstrand / Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) drinking, Pusztaszer protected landscape, Kiskunsagi, Hungary, May.

Danny Green / Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) resting with ears back, Scotland, March. Highly Commended in the Animal Portrait Category of the BWPA Competition 2015.

Alex Hyde / Harvestman (Megabunus diadema) with prominent, spiky eyes, Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, UK. April

Cyril Ruoso / Bonobo (Pan paniscus) foraging in river, Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Non-ex

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) walking over blue ice, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, Norway, July.

Alex Hyde / Mountain hare (Lepus timidus) on snow, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland. January.

Nick Upton / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) entering the River Otter after release. Part of escaped population re-released to the wild following veterinary check ups. Taken on the second day of Beaver releases aft...

Krista Schlyer / Seven-spotted lady beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) inside the funnel leaf of Pitcher plant, Alabama, USA. May 2014.

Doug Perrine / Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) adult male swimming, Deserta Grande, Ilhas Desertas, Parque Natural da Madeira, Portugal, Atlantic Ocean, June. Critically endangered species

Kevin Schafer / Pygmy Raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus) portrait, Cozumel Island, Mexico. Critically endangered endemic species.

Steven Kazlowski / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) juvenile crossing over newly forming pack ice, during autumn freeze up, Beaufort Sea, off Arctic coast, Alaska

Jordi Chias / Juvenile Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) Armenime cove, South Tenerife, Canary Island, Atlantic Ocean

Nick Garbutt / Zebu Cattle (Bos primigenius indicus), Los Llanos, Colombia, South America.

David Pattyn / Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) courting pair. The Netherlands.May 2014

David Pattyn / Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) courting pair. The Netherlands.May 2014

David Pattyn / Black necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) pair at night, performing their courtship dance during the mating season, with street lights reflected in the water. The Netherlands.April 2014

Kim Taylor / European hornet (Vespa crabro) worker in flight, Surrey, England, August.

Olga Kamenskaya / Vehicles parked on ice on the surface of Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia, March 2008.

Pascal Kobeh / Group of Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in open water, maybe the whole family with the male, the female and the calves, Costa Rica. Pacific ocean.

Ben Cranke / Jaguar (Panthera onca) drinking from the river's edge, Mato Grosso, Pantanal, Brazil. August.

Erlend Haarberg / Mountain hare (Lepus timidus) head portrait. Vauldalen, Sor-Trondelag, Norway, April.