Jack Dykinga / Whipple Mountain foothills, with flowering Notch-leaf scorpion-weed (Phacelia crenulata) and Heartleaf evening primrose (Camissonia cardiophylla) with the Riverside and Big Maria Mountains in the back...

Jack Dykinga / Notch-leaf scorpion-weed (Phacelia crenulata) blooming around Desert agave (Agave desertii) in Glorieta Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park, California, USA, March 2017. These plants are flowering during...

Jack Dykinga / Flowering Sand verbena (Abronia) and Birdcage evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides) close up, Anza-Borrego State Park, California, USA. March 2017. These plants are flowering during on largest 'supe...

Jack Dykinga / Snow geese (Chen caerulescens) large flock with some landing, Bosque del Apache, New Mexico, USA, December.

Jack Dykinga / Sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) and Snow geese (Chen caerulescens) Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA, December.

Jack Dykinga / Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in 'Wall Street' Canyon. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA, October.

Jack Dykinga / Lupan Point, looking west into sunset. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA, August.

Ann & Steve Toon / Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) with goslings, Zimanga private game reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, September

Ann & Steve Toon / Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) at waterhole at night with plains zebra (Equus quagga), Zimanga private game reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, September

Inaki Relanzon / Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) at sunset. Previously extinct in the wild, their conservation status is now stable thanks to conservation efforts.This male is part of a reintroduction program in Dubai, U...

Danny Green / Black bears (Ursus americanus) three cubs, one climbing, Minnesota, USA, June

Christophe Courteau / African elephants (Loxodonta africana) swimming across Chobe River, trunks raised above surface for breathing, Chobe National Park, border between Botswana and Namibia.

Doc White / California sea otter (Enhydra lutris) feeding on Northern kelp crab, Monterey Bay, California, USA, Eastern Pacific Ocean, May

Alex Mustard / Warty / Clown frogfish (Antennarius maculatus) male portrait, Anilao, Batangas, Luzon, Philippines, March

Alex Mustard / Yellow tube sponge (Aplysina fistularis) on a coral reef, with the camera rotated during the long exposure. East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. British West Indies. Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Ribbon sweetlips (Plectorhinchus polytaenia) USAT Liberty Wreck, Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. Java Sea

Alex Mustard / Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) split level of young seal investigating the camera with its nose and whiskers, close to shore. Lundy Island, Devon, UK, Bristol Channel. August

Rolf Nussbaumer / Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), baby turtle walking towards sea, South Padre Island, South Texas, USA. July

Rolf Nussbaumer / Greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), adult drinking, Rio Grande Valley, South Texas, Texas, USA. June

Espen Bergersen / Killer whale / Orca (Orcinus orca) male surfacing at sunset, Kvaloya, Troms, Norway October

Espen Bergersen / Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) tail fluke visible as whale dives. outside Andoya, Norway March

Ingo Arndt / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) on icefield with moon in late winter, Svalbard, Spitsbergen, Norway, April

Claudio Contreras / American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) rear view of animal swimming away over seagrass bed, Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve, Caribbean region, Mexico

Claudio Contreras / American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) rear view of animal resting in shallow water, close up of tail, Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve, Caribbean region, Mexico

Claudio Contreras / American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) resting just above seagrass underwater, Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve, Caribbean region, Mexico

Claudio Contreras / American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) extreme close up with jaws open, Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve, Caribbean region, Mexico

Lorraine Bennery / Knapweed fritillary butterflies (Melitaea phoebe) on Green winged orchid (Anacamptis morio), Grands Causses Regional Natural Park, France, May.

Lorraine Bennery / Geometrid moth caterpillar (Geometridae sp.) moving along a twig in classic pose, Corbieres, France, May.

Clay Bolt / Central bumble bee (Bombus centralis) pollinating wildflowers in the Bridger Range, Bozeman, Montana. August.

Gerrit Vyn / Mature male California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) used for the captive breeding program to restore this critically endangered species. Idaho. February.

Gerrit Vyn / Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor). Incheon, South Korea. October. Critically endangered.

John Abbott / Paper wasp (Polistes metricus) flying from flower, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, USA Controlled conditions. September

John Abbott / Glorious scarab (Chrysina gloriosa) flying, Brewster County, Texas, USA. Controlled conditions. August

Mark Carwardine / Common / Northern minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) surfacing, Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico, February

Tony Wu / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) female with a single young cub, only a few months old, northern Svalbard, Norway, June

Doug Perrine / Hot lava from the 61G flow, emanating from Pu'u O'o on Kilauea Volcano, flows over sea cliffs into the ocean under the stars and moon, Kamokuna, Kalapana, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Puna, Hawaii...

Nick Garbutt / Herd of American bison (Bison bison) in snow, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Yellowstone, January.

Jose B. Ruiz / Mountain lion (Puma concolor) silhouetted, Torres del Paine. Patagonia, Puerto Natales, Chile.

Alex Mustard / Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) male chomps on soft coral. Jackson Reef, Sinai, Egypt. Strait of Tiran, Red Sea.

Alex Mustard / A stand of Pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) growing on a coral reef, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

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, USA, September

Alex Mustard / Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) playful young seal above a kelp forest. Lundy Island, Devon, UK Bristol Channel, August

Daniel Heuclin / Sunda island pitviper (Trimeresurus insularis) in tree, Komodo Island.

Nick Hawkins / Minke whale (Baelanoptera acutorostrata) breaching, Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada, July.

Nick Hawkins / Harbour porpoise, (Phocoena phocoena) Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada, September

Nick Hawkins / Northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana) Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.

Nick Hawkins / Leaf mantis (Choeradodis sp.) Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica.

Nick Hawkins / Green sea turtle female (Chelonia mydas) returning to the sea, Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica.