Bruce Thomson / Spinifex pigeon (Geophaps plumifera) flock on stony desert floor, Diamantina River, Queensland, Australia.

Bruce Thomson / Crucifix toad / Holy cross frog (Notaden bennetti) sitting in shallow water after heavy summer rain, Westmar, Queensland, Australia.

Doug Gimesy / Greater crested tern (Thalasseus bergii) flies over breaking waves on a stormy day, with a rainbow in the background, Apollo Bay, Victoria, Australia.

Juergen Freund / Bioluminescent fungi (possibly Omphalotus nidiformis / Pleurotus nidiformis) glowing on tree trunk in rainforest at night, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia. Highly commended in the Plants an...

Doug Gimesy / Sub-Antarctic / Brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus) flying away with egg stolen from a Royal penguin colony (Eudyptes schlegeli), Macquarie Island, Australian Territory. December.

Etienne Littlefair / Mertens' water monitor (Varanus mertensi) in water, split level view, Adelaide River, Northern Territory, Australia. October. Winner of the threatened species criteria in Australia Geographic Natu...

Etienne Littlefair / Papuan lynx spider (Oxyopes papuanus), Adelaide River, Northern Territory, Australia, March.

Etienne Littlefair / Green ant mimic spider (Myrmarachne smaragdina), adult female hunting, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, March.

Etienne Littlefair / Eyrean Grasswren (Amytornis goyderi) in typical hopping motion, Andado Station, Northern Territory, Australia, November.

Etienne Littlefair / Net-casting spider (Deinopis sp.), seen at night, awaiting passing prey items, the web net is thrown over prey to aid in capture. Wonga beach, north Queensland, Australia, February.

Doug Gimesy / White-capped mollymawk / albatross (Thalassarche cauta) in flight, Foveaux Strait, Stewart Island, New Zealand. Winner of Animal Portrait category in the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of...

Doug Gimesy / Portrait of Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia.

Doug Gimesy / Ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) licks water droplets from a train station bench at night. Gardenvale train station, Gardenvale, Victoria, Australia. September.

Alex Mustard / Leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) male carrying eggs, swims over seagrass meadow. Wool Bay, Edithburgh, South Australia. Gulf of St Vincent.

Alex Mustard / Leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques) demonstrates the effectiveness of its camouflage as it shelters amongst seaweeds. This individual is a male carrying eggs. Wool Bay Jetty, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsul...

Juergen Freund / Firefly (Lampyridae) trails on beach at night, Palm tree silhouetted against milky way. Oak Beach, Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia. 2016.

Doug Gimesy / Grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), orphaned female pup sucking on a dummy, cradled on "mamma roll"; and in hand of wildlife carer. Black Rock Animal Shelter, Beaumaris, Melbourne, Victor...

Doug Gimesy / Two wind turbines with blades rotating, grassland in foreground. Mount Gellibrand Wind Farm, Victoria, Australia. March 2019.

Marie Lochman / Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) Wheatbelt Region, Western Australia

Doug Gimesy / Forest and Wildlife officers Lachlan Clarke (right) and Emily Cordy watch as a mother koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and her joey are released. Editorial use only.

David Gallan / Dead trees continue to burn long after a bushfire has swept through forest in New South Wales, Australia. December 2019.

David Gallan / Bushfire in spotted gum (Corymbia maculata) forest on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia. January 2020.

Doug Gimesy / Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a Eucalyptus tree after recent bushfires, just before having a visual inspection for its health. If it is determined that a closer examination is required to determin...

Doug Gimesy / Jeremy Jenkins, seeing his house for the first time after the 2019 / 2020 wildfires destroyed much of the the town of Sarsfield,Victoria, Australia. January, 2020. Editorial use only

Doug Gimesy / Rena Gaborov feeding some of her eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) orphans in her mother in law's shed. Rena and her partner Joseph had to evacuate their wildlife (wombats, possums and kangar...

Doug Gimesy / Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) mother and joey are released by Emily Cordy (left/green clothes) - a Forest and Wildlife officer (and assisted by members from the Australian Defence Force) at Log Cros...

Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals / Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) female and her joey who survived a bushfire cross a road in Mallacoota, Australia, January 2020

Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals / A mother Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) and her joey, surrounded by burnt trees. Survivors of a bushfire in Mallacoota, Australia, January 2020. COP26 Countdown Photo Competition 2021 Fina...

Doug Gimesy / During an extreme heat-stress event at Melbourne's Yarra Bend Grey-headed Flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) colony, where temperatures exceeded 43 degreesC, in a desperate search for somewhere coole...

Duncan Murrell / New Zealand giraffe weevil (Lasiorhynchus barbicornis), Lake Waikaremoana, North Island, New Zealand. New Zealand giraffe weevil is endemic to New Zealand and is its longest beetle in the world.

Doug Gimesy / Little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor), two standing on rocks at night, silhouetted against Melbourne city lights. St Kilda breakwater, Victoria, Australia. December 2016. COP26 Countdown Photo Competi...

Steven David Miller / Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) male standing, Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia. December.

Steven David Miller / Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) male scratching stomach, Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia. December.

Steven David Miller / Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), two males fighting. Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia.

Steven David Miller / Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), two males fighting. Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia.

Steven David Miller / Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), two males fighting, evenly matched. Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia.