A brown-throated three-toed sloth cradles her young in her arms to shelter it from the rain. Photograph: Dvir Barkay/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShare
Ready to PounceAn ambush bug nymph waits motionless on a flower for prey to wander within reach. Photograph: Joseph Ferraro/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareAlong for the RideA juvenile swimming crab hitches a ride on a jellyfish. Photograph: Chris Gug/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareFlying RodentA young lynx playfully throws a rodent into the air before killing and devouring it. Photograph: Josef Stefan/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareA Fragile FutureA pangolin pup nestles into the warmth of a blanket at a rescue centre in South Africa. Pangolins are among the world’s most trafficked animals.Photograph: Lance van de Vyver/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareDark KnightA tiger wanders a reserve deep in Similipal Odisha, India. The tiger, named T12, has pseudo-melanism, a rare genetic condition where its dark stripes are wider. A decade ago, there were fewer than seven tigers left in the reserve and T12 was the only known male, but against all odds, he has fathered new generations. This image offers us a powerful symbol of survival and hope.Photograph: Prasenjeet Yadav/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareInto the FurnaceA sun bear shelters from the rain in a furnace as a butterfly settles on its snout. A sign on the furnace reads ‘evolution’. Mogens says this is indeed a type of evolution – a wild animal’s opportunistic response to humans disturbing its natural habitat. Photograph: Mogens Trolle/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareFamily RestA polar bear and her three cubs pause in the summer heat, resting after their long journey north along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada. Shrinking sea ice is making it harder for polar bears to hunt and find food to survive in summer. Photograph: Christopher Paetkau/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareThe Final PortraitA polar bear cub looks into the camera as it accompanies its mother on an unsuccessful hunting trip. There’s a sad story behind this picture, taken on the coast of Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Soon after it was taken, the polar bear and its family went too close to an area of huts, and people forced them away. Not long after, the mother bear was found dead in the water near the shore. According to reports, she had died of serious internal injuries. Her cub was by her side.Photograph: Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the YearSharePortrait of ExtinctionUgandan wildlife rangers stand in front of pile of snares confiscated over a year in Murchison Falls national park.Photograph: Adam Oswell/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareBeak-to-BeakA sarus crane shares an intimate moment with its one-week-old chick. Photograph: Ponlawat Thaipinnarong/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareBond in MotionThe striking eyes of a curious lion-tailed macaque and its infant are on display as it races along a path. The picture immortalises the macaques’ resilience in a world where their future is uncertain.Photograph: Lalith Ekanayake/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareUniquenessA leucistic otter feeds on a catfish in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Leucism, a lack of melanin, resulting in pale or white fur. Animals with this condition can be more vulnerable because they don’t have their normal camouflage. Photograph: Daniela Anger/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareBeauty Against the BeastFlamingos stand out against a stark industrial backdrop. This image shows how spaces designated to protect wildlife carry the signs of human expansion.Photograph: Alexandre Brisson/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareSwirling SuperpodA spectacular super pod of spinner dolphins herds lanternfish towards the surface of the ocean. Photograph: Cecile Gabillon/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareNever-ending StruggleA sika deer with the severed head of a rival male that died in their battle skewered on its antler. Photograph: Kohei Nagira/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareA Leap into AdulthoodThree young kestrels prepare to leap from their nest to a nearby beam. Photograph: Peter Lindel/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareAbove and BelowA brushtail possum joey mirrors its mother climbing a branch while out foraging. Photograph: Charles Davis/Wildlife Photographer of the YearSharePrecious CargoA cellar spider, also known as a daddy long-legs, carries a ball of eggs in its mouth.Photograph: Thomas Hunt/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareCouple’s CamouflageA tiny male sits on the abdomen of a well-camouflaged female broad-headed bark spider, waiting until she moults and is ready to mate. Photograph: Artur Tomaszek/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareDancing in the HeadlightsA pair of young bear cubs play-fight in the middle of a quiet road in Jasper national park in Canada. Bears are a fairly frequent sight in the park, but cubs are rarer because their mothers tend to keep them away from any threats.Photograph: Will Nicholls/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareA Fleeting MomentAn elusive rufous-vented ground cuckoo plucks up a cicada in the depths of the rainforest in Costa Rica. Photograph: Lior Berman/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareSolar WavesRows of solar panels stretch across the landscape. This image is part of a project to document the relationship between nature and industry along the River Severn in England and Wales. Photograph: Francesco Russo/Wildlife Photographer of the YearShareMarvellous SpatuletailA male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird shows off its long tail while it feeds on flowers. Photograph: Dustin Chen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
