VINCENT MUNIER / Snowy owl {Nyctea scandiaca} female looking back while flying over snow, Quebec, Canada

Christophe Courteau / Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) silverback sitting on boundary wall between Volcanoes National Park and a Potato crop, looking into valley. Area to be restored to forest. Rwanda.

Klein & Hubert / Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) pup looking up to see behind it, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada

Steven David Miller / An Orange lacewing butterfly (Cethosia penthesilea), Cairns Botanical Gardens, Queensland, Australia. Captive. August.

Guy Edwardes / African elephant (Loxodonta africana) with Egret (Ardeidae sp) on back wtih tourists watching from boat in background. Chobe River, Botswana. 2017.

Andy Rouse / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) male 'T91 - Cowboy' at base of tree, Ranthambhore, India, Endangered species.

Remi Masson / Tracking shot of a Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) swimming underwater, turns to look at camera, River Rhone, Rhone-Alpes, France, June.

Klein & Hubert / Head portrait of young domestic Landrace pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), organic open air breeding, Germany.

Mark Taylor / Tabby kitten, 6 weeks, standing on hind legs.

Suzi Eszterhas / Ring tailed lemur (Lemur catta) mothers with two-week babies. Berenty Private Reserve, Madagascar

Fiona Rogers / Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurtheii) infant male 'Gizmo' aged 2 years lying on the forest floor. Gombe National Park, Tanzania.

Mark Bowler / Black capuchin, (Sapajus nigritus) female standing on hind legs, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Jabruson Motion / Silverback Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) from the 'Nyakamwe' family group looking at the camera before sitting back, Bukima, Virunga National Park, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Co...

Cyril Ruoso / Woman with baby looking at Sisal (Agave sisalana) fibres drying for rope making, Berenty Reserve, Madagascar.

Sven Zacek / Cross-country skiier on a moonlit night admiring the Northern Lights (Aurora borealis), Norway, March 2013.

Richard Du Toit / Black wildebeest (Connochaetus gnou) bull silhouetted at dawn, Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) standing on ice floe, looking at camera. Svalbard, Norway. August.

Andy Rouse / Chital deer (Axis axis) mother with young, Ranthambhore National Park, India.

Andy Rouse / Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) with young chick on back, Cardiff, UK, April.

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

David Pattyn / Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra) in winter landscape, looking up slope. Valsavarenche, Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy. December

Bernard Castelein / Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) female carrying two babies. Anjaha Community Conservation Site, near Ambalavao, Madagascar.

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

Edwin Giesbers / Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus) looking over rock, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands. Introduced from North Africa.

David Pattyn / Puffin (Fratercula arctica) silhouettes, Hornoya, Varanger, Finnmark, Norway, May.

Oliver Scholey / Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) female with cub riding on back, Katmai National Park, Alaska, USA, August.

Mark Taylor / Playful tabby male kitten, age 10 weeks.

Mark Taylor / French Bulldog sitting looking up, close up of muzzle

Will Burrard-Lucas / Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) standing alert on hind legs at sunset, Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana.

Bruno D'Amicis / Apennine chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata) herd resting on altitude plateau of Majella Massif, in moonlight with distant urban lights in the background. Endemic to the Apennine mountains. Majella N...

Edwin Giesbers / Jaguar (Panthera onca) cub looking over its mother's back, captive, occurs in Southern and Central America.

Eric Baccega / Grizzly bear cub (Ursus arctos horribilis) resting in the sedges, Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, British Columbia, Canada, June.

Igor Shpilenok,Igor Shpilenok / Kamchatka Brown Bear (Ursus arctos beringianus) stands on its back legs to more easily determine the source of an unfamiliar sound. Kronotsky Zapovednik Nature Reserve, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russian Fa...

Mark Taylor / Tabby male kitten, Fosset, 3 months old, rolling playfully on his back.

Denis-Huot / Masai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) male and female (back). Masai-Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.

Michael D. Kern / Rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta) captive, from Hispaniola, Caribbean, Vulnerable species

Erlend Haarberg / Male European elk / Moose (Alces alces) in undergrowth, Sarek National Park, Sweden, September

Roy Mangersnes / Arctic fox (Alopex / Vulpes lagopus) standing, near Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway, August

Yves Lanceau / Lowchen / Little Lion dog, black and white, partially shaved, portrait in garden, France

Petra Wegner / Mixed breed, white, long haired Cockerpoo / Cockapoo dog, standing on back legs, looking up. Poodle Cocker spaniel cross

Nick Garbutt / Adult bull African Elephant (Loxononta africana) reaching up to feed on foliage on the banks of the Luangwa River, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, October

Ole Jorgen Liodden / King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) parents calling and performing 'statue' display at colony. South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean, November.

Roy Mangersnes / Wild Bolivian / Peruvian Squirrel Monkey (Saimiri boliviensis) female carrying young on her back. Madidi National Park, Bolivia.

Sven Zacek / Small herd of Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) looking back at the photographer against forested background. Virumaa, Estonia, Europe, February.

Axel Gomille / Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) mother with cub riding on her back. Karnataka, India, April. Did you know? The sloth bear is the only bear that carries its young on its back.

Ernie Janes / A person looking out onto the Erg Chebbi Dunes. Sahara Desert, Morocco, North Africa, March 2011.

Mark Taylor / Black kitten, 7 weeks, rolling on its back.

Tony Heald / Zebra (Equus quagga) foal peering over its mother's striped back. Monochrome. Etosha National Park, Namibia, January.