Andy Rouse / African lion (Panthera leo) female carrying young cub, Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa. Highly commended in the African Wildlife Category of the Nature's Best Photography Competition 2019.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) female resting with cubs on glacier. Svalbard, Norway, July.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and two cubs feeding on Whale carcass. Svalbard, Norway, July.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and cubs, standing on sea ice. Svalbard, Norway, July.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and cubs resting on sea ice. Svalbard, Norway, July.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) female and cubs, one cub walking up slope of ice in foreground. Svalbard, Norway, July.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and cubs feeding on Whale carcass. Svalbard, Norway, July.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and cubs feeding on Whale carcass, on iceberg. Svalbard, Norway, July 2018.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) female and cubs play fighting. Svalbard, Norway, March 2018.

Danny Green / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) group on ice, female and cubs feeding on Whale carcass. Svalbard, Norway, June 2018.

Gabriel Rojo / Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) female and newborn baby, nose to nose in grassland. La Pampa Province, Argentina.

Felis Images / Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), female and cubs in morning light, cub biting mother's leg. Gir National Park, Gujarat, India. Photo Phillip Ross/Felis Images

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) female with suckling calf. Vava'u Islands, Tonga.

Jack Dykinga / Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) female and ten chicks aged a few weeks. Marana, Arizona, USA. May.

Andy Rouse / Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris) family drinking from pool, Ranthambhore, India

Mark Raycroft / Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) mother nursing calf, Newfoundland, Canada

Suzi Eszterhas / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) mother and calf at waterhole, Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) mother and eight-month-old cub, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) mother and four-month-old cubs, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) six-week-old cub nuzzling mother, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) mother playing with her six-week-old cub, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) five-week-old cub playing with mother's tail, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) five-week-old cub playing with mother's tail, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) mother and five-week-old cub, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) mother grooming five-week-old cub, Jao Reserve, Botswana

Suzi Eszterhas / Leopard (Panthera pardus) five-week-old cub playing with mother, Jao Reserve, Botswana

David Woodfall / Dunlin (Calidris alpina) small wader with young in machair. North Uist, Scotland, UK, June.

John Shaw / Snow monkey or Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) female with baby clinging to her back. Jigokudani, Japan, February.

Jiri Lochman / Brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) female with young, Kingston Forest, Western Australia, October.

Mary McDonald / Adult Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) holding baby, Hirwa group, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Espen Bergersen / Aerial shot of a female Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and calf surrounded by Killer whales (Orcinus orca), mother hits sideways with her tail fluke to drive Killer whales away, Skjervoy, Tro...

Neil Aldridge / White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) mother and calf, prepare to leave a boma - a secure enclosure - in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana after being translocated from South Africa as part of...

Cyril Ruoso / Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) mother with young drinking, Anja Park, Madagascar

Stefan Christmann / Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) female hauled out with pup, Atka Bay, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. October.

Eric Baccega / Female Uganda kob (Kobus kob thomasi) suckling calf. Murchisson Falls National Park, Uganda. February.

Flip Nicklin / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mother and calf, Maui, Hawaii

Jed Weingarten / Wild Wonders of China / Tibetan macaque (Macaca thibetana) carrying young baby, Tangjiahe Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province, China

Alex Hyde / Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) pup with mother. King Haakon Bay, South Georgia. November.

Sven Zacek / Ural owl (Strix uralensis) female on the nest with nestling hidden under wing. Tartumaa, Southern Estonia. April.

Sven Zacek / Ural owl (Strix uralensis) female and nestling on nest in tree stump. Tartumaa, Southern Estonia. May.

Oriol Alamany / Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) female with two cubs climbing a canyon cliff at dusk at 4400 metres, Spiti valley, Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve, Himalaya mountains, Himachal Pradesh, India, February

Pedro Narra / Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and a newborn cub, Sado Estuary, Portugal. May

Pedro Narra / Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) vixen grooming cub, Sado Estuary, Portugal. May

Donald M. Jones / White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) mother cleaning fawn, Montana

Donald M. Jones / White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) doe cleaning newborn fawn, Montana

Donald M. Jones / White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) doe smelling newborn fawn, Montana

Christophe Courteau / Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) female with baby, portrait. Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.

Ingo Arndt / Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) mother and young cubs, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Ingo Arndt / Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) mother and young cubs, Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

Giri Cavale / Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) female with cub, Kabini, Nagarahole National Park, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Karnataka, India.

Franco Banfi / Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) young male trying to copulate with a female. The calf of the female was in the way so the male is trying to chase it away. Dominica.

Hiroya Minakuchi / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) mothers and calves, Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Hiroya Minakuchi / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) herd, Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Paul Williams / Moose (Alces alces) female with twin calves, Baxter State Park, Maine, USA, June.

Richard Du Toit / Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) mother and calf, Itala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

David Fleetham / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), mother and calf swimming just below surface in front of the West Maui Mountains. South of Lahaina, West Maui, Hawaii.

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) mother and joey, Mount Lofty, South Australia, Australia

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) mother with joey, Maloney Beach, New South Wales, Australia

Juergen & Christine Sohns / Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) mother with joey jumping, Maloney Beach, New South Wales, Australia

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) female, stationary with calf heading to surface for breath of air. Vava'u, Tonga, South Pacific.

Andrew Peacock / White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) mother and calf in grassland, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

Mary McDonald / Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) female with baby age, 4 months, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Sylvain Cordier / Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), female with two cubs, on a barrier island outside Kaktovik, Alaska, USA.

Juergen & Christine Sohns / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) mother browsing with calves, Addo National Park, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) mother and calf, Addo National Park, South Africa

Juergen & Christine Sohns / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) mother and calf, Addo National Park, South Africa

Matthew Maran / Beaver (Castor fibre) female feeding on willow bark with her two kits, River Otter, Devon, England, UK, July. Highly commended in the Habitat category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA)...

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Mustang (Equus caballus) mother and foal, Oshoto, Wyoming

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Mustang (Equus caballus) mother and foal, Oshoto, Wyoming

Cyril Ruoso / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) five year old juvenile male named Fanwwaa at mother's nest, Bossou, Guinea

Dave Bevan / Welsh mountain sheep cleaning afterbirth from a lamb before a second lamb is born, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, March.

Franco Banfi / Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) mother surfacing with calf below, Dominica, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Vulnerable species.

Eric Baccega / Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) cub playfuly chewing a bamboo stick. Yuan Meng, first giant panda ever born in France, is now 10 months old and still feeds on his mother's milk, Captive at Beauva...

Chien Lee / Pygmy Anteater (Cyclopes didactylus) mother and young, Esmeraldas, Ecuador

Five Films / Female Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) defending pup on beach, chasing male away, Horsey, Norfolk, November.

Yashpal Rathore / Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) cubs riding on mothers back, Daroiji Bear Sanctuary, Karnataka, India.

Yashpal Rathore / Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) cub riding on mothers back, Daroiji Bear Sanctuary, Karnataka, India.

Luke Massey / Wild boar (Sus scrofa) piglets suckling from mother, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK, May.

Luke Massey / Wild boar (Sus scrofa) piglets resting, with mother nearby, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK, May.

Luke Massey / Low angle shot of Wild boar (Sus scrofa) piglets running towards parent, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK, May.

Alfred Trunk/ BIA / Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) mother carrying chick, Upper Austria, Austria

Tui De Roy / Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) parents and chicks along coast, Saunders Island, Falkland Islands

Tui De Roy / Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) pair calling near chicks, Saunders Island, Falkland Islands

Eric Baccega / Caribbean manatee or West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) mother with baby, age two days, captive, Beauval Zoo, France

Eric Baccega / Caribbean manatee or West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) mother with baby, age two days, captive, Beauval Zoo, France

Eric Baccega / Caribbean manatee or West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) mother with baby, age two days, captive, Beauval Zoo, France

Eric Baccega / Caribbean manatee or West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) mother with baby, age two days, captive, Beauval Zoo, France

Eric Baccega / Caribbean manatee or West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) mother with baby, age two days, captive, Beauval Zoo, France

Andrew Parkinson / Mute swan (Cygnus olor) cygnets with head submerged while feeding underwater, with mother watching and helping, Derbyshire, England, UK. June. Highly Commended in the Animal Behaviour category of the...

Andy Rouse / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) tigress Noor with cubs , Ranthambhore, India

Andy Rouse / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) tigress Noor with cubs , Ranthambhore, India

Edwin Giesbers / Close-up of a litter of Wild boar (Sus scrofa) piglets sleeping on top of their mother, with another piglet joining, Germany, January. Captive.

Edwin Giesbers / Close-up of a litter of Wild boar (Sus scrofa) piglets sleeping on top of their mother, with another piglet joining, Germany, January. Captive.

Edwin Giesbers / Close-up of a litter of Wild boar (Sus scrofa) piglets sleeping on top of their mother, Germany, January. Captive.

Paul Bertner / Fantastic Leaf-tail Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus) mother and young, Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar