Flight by Sue Forbes, UK Highly Commended photo in the 'Behaviour: Birds' category; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
This photo was captured in the Indian Ocean, northeast of D'Arros Island in the Seychelles. At this moment, a single, juvenile, red-footed booby pursues a flying fish that has surfaced to escape predators below like tuna and marlin. Curious to know what happened? The bobby missed; the fish got away.
Cool Cat by Isak Pretorius, South Africa. Highly commended in the "Animal Portraits" contest; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
A lioness drinks from a waterhole in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park. The lioness is a member of a pride that is composed of two males, five females and five cups.
The Victor by Adam Hakim Hogg, Malaysia. Highly commended for the 11- 14 Years Old category; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
Captured here is a Titiwangsa horned tree lizard who is observing the road near the photographer's home in the mountains of Pahang, Malaysia. Before this shot was captured, the lizard had been in a furious life and death battle with a venomous Malaysian jewel centipede and won. Here, the victor stands over its prize. Unfortunately, the species is highly sought after by poachers for the pet trade.
The meerkat Mob by Tertius A Gous, South Africa. Highly commended for the "Behavior: Mammals" category; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
In this shot, an Anchieta's cobra reared its head and moved towards two meerkat pups near their warren on Namibia's Brandberg Mountain. The rest of the pack foraging nearby reacted. The 20-strong group split into two. One group grabbed the pups and huddled a safe distance away. The others took on the snake. After 10 minutes, the cobra gave up and disappeared.
Glass House guard by Wayne Jones, Australia. Highly commended for "Underwater"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
A yellow pygmy goby guards its home (a discarded glass bottle) on the sandy seabed off the coast of Mabini in the Philippines. This fish is tiny - measuring at a mere 4cm long. It lives in the bottle where the female will lay several batches of eggs, while the male performs guard duty at the entrance.
Ahead in the Game by Nicholas Dyer, UK. Highly commended for "Behaviour: Mammals"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
In this photo, a pair of African wild dog pups plays a game of tag with the head of a chacma baboon - what was the remains of their breakfast. The African wild dog is an endangered species and is best known for hunting antelope. Over the past five years, in northern Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park, three separate packs are regularly killing and eating baboons. This is highly unusual as baboons are capable of inflicting severe wounds.
Delta Designs by Paul McKenzie, Ireland/Hong Kong. Highly commended for "Creative visions" category; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
On the border of Kenya and Tanzania is a network of tendrils, is the Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River delta which is tinged green with algae spreading through the river sediment. In the background, a far fainter latticework traced the trails made by lesser flamingos as they fed.
Witness by Emily Garthwaite, UK. Highly commended for "Wildlife Photojournalist Award: Single Image"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
Photographed here is one of several sun bears kept behind the scenes at a zoo in Sumatra Indonesia, in what is evidently 'appalling' conditions. Sun bears are the world's smallest bears and are now critically endangered due to rampant deforestation and the demand for their bile and organs for traditional Chinese medicine. In their natural habitat, the lowland forests of Southeast Asia they spend much of their time in trees, eating fruit and small animals. According to the photographer, when the sun bear saw his keeper, he started screaming. It was a chilling noise.
Mister Whiskers by Valter Bernardeschi, Italy. Highly commended for "Animal Portraits"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILLDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
Captured here are walruses on a bright summer night near an island in the Norwegian archipelago off Svalbard. While they may be clumsy on land, these weighty giants move with ease and speed in the water. The photo captures their distinctive whiskered faces of a youngster and its watchful mother. Walruses use their whiskers and snouts to search out bivalve mollusks - like clams and other small invertebrates on the ocean floor.
Looking for Love by Tony Wu, USA. Highly commended for "Animal Portraits"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHTOGRAPHER
Pastel colors, protruding lips and an outstanding pink forehead, this Asian sheeps-head wrasse in Japan's remote Sado Island sets out to impress females and scare off rivals, which he will head-butt and bite. What's surprising is that they start off as females and when they reach a certain age and size - up to more than three feet long - they can transform into males. This species is unfortunately vulnerable to overfishing. It favors rocky reefs in cool waters in the Western Pacific, where it feeds on shellfish and crustaceans.
Tigerland by Emmanuel Rondeau, France. Highly commended for "Animals in their environment" category; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
This photo was captured in a remote forest high in the Himalayas of central Bhutan. A male mengal tiger fixes his gaze on the camera. While the path he threads runs along a network linking the country's national parks and corridors that aid in the conversation of this endangered subspecies, but they are unprotected from logging and poaching. The last count indicates there are just 103 left.
Eye to Eye by Emanuele Biggi, Italy Highly commended for "Animals in their environment"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER
As the photographer searched the carcasses of the South American sea lion, the stench was unbearable. This photo was captured on the desert coast of Peru's Paracas National Reserve which teems with life. At the moment this photo was taken a young male Peru Pacific iguana with its distinctive black chevrons on its throat appeared from its shelter from the harsh sun and wind, peeping through the eye socket.
Simple Beauty by Theo Bosboom, The Netherlands. Highly commended for "Creative Visions"; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE
A colorful cluster of detached fronds of egg wrack and bladder from an abstract pattern against white sand in a shallow tidal pool. They have been washed off the rocks surrounding Mangersta Sands, on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. The air-filled bladders of the marine algae keep their fronds floating and exposed to light so they can photosynthesize. This photo captured the simple beauty of structures and patterns created by nature itself.
Forest on a Tree by Antonio Fernandez, Spain. Highly commended for "Plants and Fungi" category; Photo: Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 WILDLIFE
The arms of immense trees stretched eerily into the mist permeating Madeira's Fanal Forest. This low tilo branch with ferns growing along it lay among them like a forest within a forest. This evergreen laurel can reach more than 40 meters in height and is found only in Madeira and on the Canary Islands.
