This year the prestigious annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is celebrating its 60th birthday. In anticipation of this amazing achievement, the Natural History Museum London has released an amazing batch of highly commended entries submitted for this year's contest.
These are the images that, though spectacular, didn’t quite make it into the final shortlist.
Featuring amazing images from a stoat jumping for joy to a tender moment between two young owls, these early images are whetting our appetite for the winners of this year's competition. These will be announced on 8 October 2024 by BBC wildlife TV presenters and conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London, where the latest Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will open on 11 October 2024.
Centre of Attention – Invertebrate Behaviour category
A group of male Dawson's Burrowing bees (Amegilla dawson) ambush a female emerging from a burrow. The females are often mobbed by males in a furious mating frenzy like this. Females are known to be killed in such mating balls. Photographed in Carnarvon, Western Australia. Photo by Georgina Steytler /WPOTY60
The Disappearing Ice Cap – Oceans category
A panorama made up of 26 individual frames shows a spectacular summer view of meltwater plunging over the edge of the Bråsvellbreen glacier. The Bråsvellbreen glacier is part of Austfonna, Europe’s third-largest ice cap. Photo by Thomas Vijayan/WPOTY60
Leaving the Nest – 10 Years and Under category
A pair of tawny owlets photographed in Munich, Germany. Owlets leave the nest before they can fly, in a phase known as ‘branching’. They will jump, flutter and climb around branches of nearby trees for several weeks while begging for food from their parents before they eventually fledge and fly away. Photo by Sasha Jumanca/WPOTY60
Strength In Numbers – Animals in their Environment category
This image demonstrates how mussels bind together to avoid being washed away from the shoreline. Photographed on the shores of Praia da Ursa, Sintra, Portugal. Photo by Theo Bosboom/WPOTY60
Precious Rocks – Bird Behaviour category
A Jackdaw (C. monedula) pictured with rocks in its mouth, ready to deposit into a nest it is building in Bushy Park, London, United Kingdom. Jackdaws are highly intelligent and adaptable. They build new nests each year, from all sorts of materials: twigs, branches, feathers, wool, moss, mud and animal dung. Photo by Samual Stone/WPOTY60
Deadly Bite – Mammal Behaviour category
This image shows the moment a jaguar (Panthera onca) delivers a fatal bite to a caiman in the Pantanal Wetlands, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo by Ian Ford/WPOTY60
Twist and Jump – Mammal Behaviour category
A stoat jumps high into the air in Athose, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. Scientists refer to this behaviour as dancing, although opinions are divided about what motivates it, from an attempt to confuse prey through to a parasitic infection. Photo by Jose Manuel Grandío/WPOTY60
Ziggy Spider – Invertebrate Behaviour category
Found in Malaysia, Singapore and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Heteropoda davidbowie is a species of huntsman spider that was named by arachnologist and Bowie fan Dr Peter Jäger. He thought the striking markings up to the spider’s head region resembled the make-up worn by the late singer. Photo by Lam Soon Tak/WPOTY60
Moonlight Hunter – Mammal Behaviour category
A Pallas's cat stands over its kill on the freezing plateau of Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, China. The thick winter coats of Pallas’s cats help them survive at altitudes up to 5,000 metres. They avoid larger predators by stealth, and it’s thought that their low, rounded ears allow them to peer over obstacles while remaining hidden. Photo by Xingchao Zhu/WPOTY60
Going with the Floe – Animals in their Environment category
A pair of crabeater seals (Lobodon carcinophaga) take a nap among the sea ice in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. There are around four million crabeater seals in the Antarctic. Photo by Tamara Stubbs/WPOTY60
Hooked – Oceans category
A requiem shark (Carcharhinidae) is caught in a bycatch of a fishing boat in International waters, the South Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 80 million sharks are taken from the world’s oceans every year. Photo by Tommy Trenchard/WPOTY60
Stormy Scene – Mammal Behaviour category
A pair of mating lions in Serengeti National Park are photographed against the backdrop of dramatic storm clouds. Insects and saliva can be seen around the male lion's mane. Photo by William Fortescue/WPOTY60
The Last Resting Place – Natural Artistry category
This doe has taken her final breath and has gently passed away in the cold winter of Lassen County, California, USA. The image seems to capture the beauty of this animal, adding a tranquil element to a subject that is often seen as taboo. Photo by Randy Robbins/WPOTY60
In the Spotlight – 10 Years and Under category
Two Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) photographed in the Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India. Peafowl are year-round residents that roost in large trees. They rest in the shade during the day and are more active in open areas at dawn and dusk. Photo by Shreyovi Mehta/WPOTY60
James Cutmore is the picture editor of BBC Science Focus Magazine. He has worked on the magazine and website for over a decade, telling compelling science stories through the use of striking imagery. He holds a degree in Fine Art, and has been nominated for the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards, being highly commended in 2020. His main areas of interest include photography that highlights positive technology and the natural world. For many years he was a judge for the Wellcome Trust's image competition, as well as judging for the Royal Photographic Society.
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