Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ant (Atta sp) female worker carrying leaf to nest, with a smaller 'minor' ant riding. The minor's job is to protect her sister from parasitic flies. Costa Rica, December. Highly Commended,...

Tony Heald / Hippopotamus {Hippopotamus amphibius} territorial defense at water edge, Chobe national park, Botswana.

Matthew Maran / Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) cub defending its kill (a large dead Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)) from another cub, North London, UK. August.

Espen Bergersen / Aerial shot of a female Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and calf surrounded by Killer whales (Orcinus orca), mother hits sideways with her tail fluke to drive Killer whales away, Skjervoy, Tro...

John Chan / Western gulls (Larus occidentalis) attacking an Elegant tern (Thalasseus elegans) with a broken wing, Southern California, USA, April.

Guy Edwardes / Mozambique spitting cobra (Naja mossambica) spitting venom. Kruger, South Africa. Controlled conditions.

Robert Valentic / Eastern tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) female, Yarra River corridor in suburban Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in mid-summer. She is in a defensive pre-strike position with hood expanded, accompanie...

Konrad Wothe / Slow motion clip of Wood ants (Formica rufa) on anthill, squirting formic acid to repel threat, Bavaria, Germany, April.

Five Films / Female Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) defending pup on beach, chasing male away, Horsey, Norfolk, November.

Lucas Bustamante / Tropical shield mantis (Choeradodis rhombicollis) in defensive position, on flower, Chinambi, Carchi, Ecuador.

Remi Masson / Group of Black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) shoaling to protect themselves against predators, River Rhone, Rhone-Alpes, France, July.

Robert Thompson / Sawfly larvae (Nematus pavidus) defensive posture, Peatlands Park, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. September.

Jordi Chias / European barracuda (Sphyraena sphyraena) and Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) circling baitball of Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) Formigas Islets, Azores. Finalist in the Underwater Categ...

Alex Mustard / Brandt's cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) hunts for a meal in a school of Pacific chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), beneath an oil rig. Eureka Rig, Los Angeles, California, United States of Ame...

Alex Hyde / Silk moth (Automeris zugana) sequence 2 of 2, with wings open to reveal eyespots, a means of deterring predators, photographed on a white background in mobile field studio, Cordillera de Talamanca mou...

Ingo Arndt / Prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis), threat display, South Dakota, USA September. Sequence 1 of 3

Mark Taylor / Black-and-white kitten, Loona, age 11 weeks, arching back.

Bence Mate / Herring gull (Larus argentatus) mobbing White tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) with fish prey, Lake Csaj, Kiskunsagi National Park, Hungary. March.

Bence Mate / Gull mobbing White tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) with fish prey, Lake Csaj, Kiskunsagi National Park, Hungary. March.

Bence Mate / Juvenile White tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)in flight, with Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) mobbing it, Lake Csaj, Kiskunsagi National Park, Pusztaszer, Hungary. January.

Bence Mate / Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) mobbing Buzzard (Buteo buteo) Lake Csaj, Kiskunsagi National Park, Pusztaszer, Hungary. January.

Luis Quinta / Grass snake (Natrix natrix) juvenile playing dead, Alvao, Portugal, April.

Edwin Giesbers / Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus) baring teeth as a sign of submission, Gibraltar Nature Reserve, Gibraltar,

Alex Mustard / Backlit detail of branching fire coral (Millepora alcicornis) showing the hair like polyps, filled with stinging nematocysts. East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Caribbean Sea.

Staffan Widstrand / Raven (Corvus corax) mobbing Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), Hornoya Island, Varanger Peninsula, Norway, March.

Anup Shah / Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) male juvenile aged about 18 months approaching a kill, wide angle view. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

Silke Arndt / Western rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis viridis), threat display, South Dakota, USA, September.

John Cancalosi / Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), defensive rattling, Arizona, USA, April.

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Arctic tern (Sterna paridisea) mobbing, Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway, July.

Solvin Zankl / Black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) attacking Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus) pup, Sperrgebiet National Park, Namibia, December. Sequence 3/6

Bence Mate / Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) mobbing Euasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) Pusztaszer, Hungary, June.

Paul D Stewart / Restoration of the Iguanodon by Alice B. Woodward from Lydekker's The Royal Natural History' Frederick Warne and co, 1896. This is one of the first reconstructions to correctly show the Iguanodon's th...

Andrew Parkinson / Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) adult hovering directly in front of the sun, defending nest from perceived threat, Farne Islands, UK. June

B&S Draker / Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), adult in defense posture. Sinton, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend, Texas, USA, March.

B&S Draker / Texas Brown Tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi) adult at sunset in defense posture. Sinton, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend, Texas, USA, May.

Jurgen Freund / Carrier / Sea urchin crab (Dorippe frascone) carrying a fire urchin as a deterrent to predators. Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

David Fleetham / Hawaiian pom-pom / boxer crab (Lybia edmondsoni)with anemones (Triactis sp) that it carries around holding with the claws and using them for defense, waving in front of the possible aggressor. An exam...

Philippe Clement / Oosterscheldekering / Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier, the largest of 13 dams designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding. Neeltje Jans, Netherlands, March 2010

Visuals Unlimited / Juvenile female Sheepheads in territory dispute (Semicossyphus pulcher), Baja California, Mexico.

Rolf Nussbaumer / Texas Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri) with mouth open in defense posture, Fennessey Ranch, Refugio, Coastal Bend, Texas Coast, USA

David Woodfall / Building a sea wall to combat climate change and protect fishing village from flooding, Sundarbans, Bangladesh, June 2008

Gerrit Vyn / Adult Red-necked Grebes (Podiceps grisegena) in breeding plumage performing "whinny-braying" duet in defense of territory. Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, July.

Michael Pitts / Southern elephant seal {Mirounga leonina} defense behaviour, Sealion island, Falkland Islands

Jurgen Freund / Close up of Giant Stinging Tree hairs on the leaves (Urticastrum gigas or Dendrocnide excelsa). Contact with the leaves or twigs causes the hollow silica-tipped hairs to penetrate the skin. Australia

Markus Varesvuo / Common crane (Grus grus) displaying in defense against Red fox {Vulpes vulpes} Pernaja, Finland, May 2005. Magic Moments book plate.

Anup Shah / Cape Fur Seal pup (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) fends off Black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) Cape Cross Seal Reserve, Namibia

Kim Taylor / Giant millipede coiled for defense {Diplopoda} East Africa

Solvin Zankl / Lanternfly with wings open in defense display {Scamandra thetis} Sulawesi, Indonesia