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With a tuft of its hair blowing in the wind, this young lion can be seen staring into the distance in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It was captured by Italian photographer Paolo Ameli, who bags a ‘Merit’ award 

This green-hued shot shows the red-eyed tree frog in a jungle in Costa Rica’s La Fortuna region. Photographer Pablo Trilles Farrington – the recipient of a ‘Merit’ award – describes the creature as ‘hypnotic’, noting that its distinctive features are its red eyes and the blue stripe that colours its sides. He notes that though these frogs are typically nocturnal, ‘this photograph was taken during the day when the frog was looking for a better place to rest’

In this breathtaking shot, a caravan of camels moves through a storm near the town of Merzouga, which lies in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Photographer Olivier Unia, the recipient of a ‘Merit’ award, describes the scene as a ‘gift from nature’ 

This magnificent image shows a group of gelada monkeys – also known as the bleeding-heart monkey – in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains. Photographer Turgay Uzer, a ‘Merit’ award-winner, says: ‘To protect themselves from leopards, they spend the night on tiny ledges on the impossibly steep cliffs of the mountains and climb back on the plateau at daybreak to graze’

This magical shot of silhouetted gelada monkeys in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains is the work of Turgay Uzer

A young polar bear cub walks with a spring in its step in this captivating photograph by Turgay Uzer, which is titled: ‘I’ve Got Things To Do And People To See.’ It was captured in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago

Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park was the setting for this mesmerising shot, which shows a ‘young leopard checking on its hoisted kill’ – which means the kill was tugged onto a tree to keep it out of reach of other carnivores. It’s the handiwork of Turgay Uzer

A lion in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park is the subject of this beautifully composed picture by ‘Merit’ award-winner Turgay Uzer

This transfixing shot of a night monkey in Panama’s Parque Nacional Soberania was captured by Turgay Uzer. Describing the creature, he says: ‘It weighs less than one kilogram, has some of the biggest eyes in nature and those long pianists’ fingers!’ Uzer adds: ‘Sadly, the [night monkey] is endangered in Panama because of deforestation, capture for the pet trade and poaching’ 

Turgay Uzer captured this stunning shot of an elephant feeding on the leaves of acacia trees in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park

Though it looks like they’re enemies, the jaguars in this powerful shot are actually mating, photographer Turgay Uzer reveals. He explains: ‘Big cat mating starts with courting, continues with purring and ends with snarls and violence. And can go on like that for days.’ The picture was captured in Brazil’s Parque Estadual Encontro das Aguas 

A crocodile feasts on an unfortunate wildebeest in the Mara River in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve in this jarring shot by Turgay Uzer, titled ‘Dinner Time’ 

This picture of a leopard cub feeding on an impala kill in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park is the work of Turgay Uzer. He says: ‘We could have been the first humans this cub had seen. The mother left after dragging a heavy impala kill into the thicket. It was aware of us and yet kept on feeding’ 

U.S photographer Jo Fields captured this striking shot of a non-venomous rat snake on a branch. ‘Many people walking by shuddered with fear and kept walking by,’ Fields says, adding that the snake had just come out of hibernation. Fields snaps up a ‘Merit’ award 

This stunning shot shows lenticular clouds over Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s Patagonia region. Photographer Carmen Villar, who gets a ‘Merit’ award, remarks: ‘Before the sun came up, the colour of the clouds was simply impressive’

This image was captured by overall winner Thomas Vijayan. It shows an inquisitive-looking golden-headed langur, a critically endangered species of monkey endemic to Vietnam’s Cat Ba Island. There are less than 70 golden-headed langurs remaining, the photographer reveals, adding that the species was almost extinct two decades ago, due to poaching for medicine and hunting for sport. Their average body length is 20 inches (50cm) and then their tails extend another three feet (one metre), he says

Behold another spectacular shot captured by overall winner Vijayan, this time showing an orangutan in Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo 

This heartwarming picture of a fox in London covered in dandelion seeds was taken by Lewis Newman and won the Animal Portraits category. Newman said: ‘After spending a lot of time with this particular vixen, she began to learn I was not a threat. This gave me some great photographic opportunities. I got to know her routine, and as the wild flowers began to grow, I would find her curled up amongst them. As the dandelions began to open there were a couple of days when she would wake up covered in them. Although she got used to my presence, if I were to move too fast or drop anything she would immediately leave. Later on in spring, I was blessed with her bringing her cubs to me and have watched them grow ever since’

A quirky scene captured by James Roddie in Scotland, with the image snaring the gold medal in the Animal Behaviour category. Roddie explained that he took the picture during a common toad migration, which apparently can be ‘spectacular to watch’. He continued: ‘As the large females make their way to the water, the smaller males approach them to try and “hitch a lift”. It can result in some amusing behaviour, as multiple males will often try to mount the same female. This image was captured just as one of the males tried to push away another. It can be quite a difficult thing to photograph, as this is one situation when toads move surprisingly quickly’

A mesmerising image taken by Ed Phillips of a Willughby’s leafcutter bee in his Staffordshire garden. The shot was a runner-up in the Animal Portraits category. Phillips said: ‘I have a particular interest in the UK’s solitary bees and like to photograph the species that visit our Staffordshire garden. I had seen this male Willughby’s leafcutter bee looking out of a hole, but it kept retreating whenever I approached. They often pause to warm-up at the entrance before flying off, so I waited, camera poised for the right moment. It eventually reappeared and I carefully framed the shot. At the last moment it cocked its head to one side to what I felt was a pleasing angle’

This amazing image was the runner-up in the Black & White category and taken by Paula Cooper in Scotland on Bass Rock, a volcanic plug in the Firth of Forth that’s home to over 150,000 gannets. Cooper said: ‘I wanted to show the drama of the place so converted it to black and white and darkened the image’

This spellbinding picture won the Black & White category. It shows woodland at Great Mell Fell in the Lake District, with photographer Matthew Turner describing it as ‘a strange and otherworldly place, with gnarled bark, distorted branches and dank moss everywhere’. He added: ‘I clambered through the jumble of fallen trees and eventually stumbled upon this decaying specimen, which to me looked like a claw reaching out from the decomposing pile of tree carcasses beneath. I used my tripod to avoid any camera shake due to the dark and dingy conditions, which suited the scene perfectly’

The competition has a Wild Woods category – and this was the runner-up. A stunning image taken in Abernethy in Scotland by Graham Niven. He said: ‘The Abernethy Forest in the Cairngorm National Park is a very special place which I am fortunate to call home. It encompasses one of the largest remnants of Caledonian pinewood, as well as moorland, wetlands and mountains, and is home to a host of specialist pinewood and upland plants and animals. A wonderful place for photography, I am always trying to capture its splendour and translate some of the magic and value it holds. During a spell of sunny August weather, I managed to convince a pal to meet me at the summit of the nearest hill (Meall a’ Bhuachaille) at 5am before sunrise. As the sun rose, it illuminated the swirling mist in the forest below, accentuating the shapes and layers of trees. A magical but brief moment, lasting only a few minutes before the mist burned off’

The winner in the Wild Woods category was this breathtaking image of an ethereal scene on Badbury Hill in Oxfordshire. It was taken by Philip Selby, who said he was ‘struck by the sense of endlessness as the beech trees eerily dissolved into the silent, misty obscurity’

Taken in Scotland’s Western Highlands by Neil McIntyre, this beautiful picture was the winner of the Habitat category

The runner-up in the Habitat category was this picture of mountain hares in the Cairngorms in Scotland. The photographer, Peter Bartholomew, said: ‘Deep snow drifts had left ridges and contours on the plateau. Visibility was limited as strong winds buffeted the cornices and snow swirled down the valley. Across the bowl, the male hare moved slowly towards the female hare above it and stopped. For a moment the blizzard abated, allowing me to capture the hares in their special mountain environment’

Matthew Cattell snapped this picture of a murmuration of starlings in Brighton and was honoured with a runner-up accolade in the Urban Wildlife category for his efforts. He said: ‘On this particular evening, an approaching storm was illuminating the horizon, and as the light levels dropped, the brightness of the sky balanced with the lights on the Palace Pier. As the starlings arrived to roost, they swept across the sea, producing graceful, elegant curves across my view finder. I particularly love the shape of their movement in this photograph’

Billy Evans-Freke has been named the RSPB Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 and 15-17 Years Winner for this shot of a tawny owlet near his home in East Sussex

Feast your eyes on the image that made photographer Charlie Page British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023. It was taken in Lee Valley Park, with Page revealing: ‘I knew this area was reliable for foxes, and I wanted a shot with the industrial backdrop. One day when setting up my camera with a remote shutter release, a fox approached from my left. Hesitant about what to do, I stayed still, and surprisingly the fox stopped right in my frame. I took the shot but was confused why it had come so close. In hindsight, this encounter probably tells the story more than the photo itself. Wildlife has become used to us encroaching on them. I think the felled tree and longing look on the fox’s face portray this tragedy perfectly. I hope that all wildlife photography doesn’t look like this in years to come’