The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 competition has started and the organisers have now released stunning images of entries received.
Images of an Iberian lynx framed in a doorway, cheetahs swimming in a raging river and blood dripping from the muzzle of a lioness are among the unbelievable shots captured.
There were a record number of entries to the 57th edition of the competition, which is organized by the Natural History Museum in London, and a selection of “highly commended” images was released Tuesday evening, August 31.
Industry experts selected among 50,000 submissions from photographers in 95 countries, judging for “creativity, originality, and technical excellence.
The category winners will be announced on October 12 and will feature in an exhibition set to open on October 15 and run until June 5 2022.
See more images below.
US photographer Jack Zhi shot this image of a young white-tailed kite taking a live mouse from its father in mid-air.
This image of a lioness dripping with bright red blood was taken by British photographer Lara Jackson in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Sri Lankan-Australian photographer Buddhilini de Soyza feared these male cheetahs wouldn’t make it out of a flooded river in Masai Mara, Kenya.
Mangrove swamps provide a buffer between Kakinada city and the sea in Andhra Pradesh, India, as shot by Indian photographer Rakesh Pulapa.
French photographer Laurent Ballesta found thousands of narwhal shrimp in deep water in the French Mediterranean.
Wei Fu, from Thailand, captured this struggle between a golden tree snake and a red-spotted tokay gecko.
Norwegian photographer Audun Rikardsen shows a slick of dying herrings covering the surface of the sea off the Norwegian coast.
An Apollo butterfly lands on an oxeye daisy in the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park, eastern France, as shot by French photographer Emelin Dupieux.
This orphaned gray-headed flying fox was caught on camera by Australian photographer Douglas Gimesy.
American photographer Jonny Armstrong shows a fox busy searching in the shallows for salmon carcasses that had died after spawning.