Mitsuaki Iwago / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) pup portrait, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Jim Brandenburg / Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) portrait, Asia

Jim Brandenburg / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) emerging from snowy forest, Minnesota

Tui De Roy / Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) group crowding on melting summer ice floe, Possession Island, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) group, near Ekstrom Ice Shelf, Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Michio Hoshino / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) portrait, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) pup, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) mother and pup, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) sunning, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) portrait, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Jim Brandenburg / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) walking, Northwoods, Minnesota

Jim Brandenburg / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) standing in snow, Minnesota

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) cub nuzzling mother, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and two cubs, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) pup portrait, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) pup portrait, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Jim Brandenburg / American Bison (Bison bison) herd stampeding, South Dakota

Jim Brandenburg / Arctic Wolf (Canis lupus) walking into wind, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

Jim Brandenburg / Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) herd in defensive formation, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

Jim Brandenburg / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) pack at White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) kill, Minnesota

Jim Brandenburg / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) trio tugging on White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) skin, Minnesota

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and cubs in snow storm, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and two cubs, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) standing, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Mitsuaki Iwago / Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) young holding a snow ball, Japan

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) mother and two cubs crossing icefield, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) laying on stomach, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandicus) pup, Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) portrait, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Michio Hoshino / Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) pair, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Tim Fitzharris / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) trio playing in snow, Montana

Pascal Tordeux / An old Oak tree (Quercus robur) that survived on the front line of the World War One, in the region of Saint Quentin, Picardy, France, February 2012

Denis-Huot / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) kneeling in mud and rain. Aberdares National Park, Kenya.

Tim Fitzharris / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) cub in snow, Idaho

Ben Hall / Great grey owl (Strix nebulosa) perched in pine tree in snowfall, captive

Sumio Harada / Moose (Alces alces shirasi) female covered with snow, Glacier National Park, Montana

Sumio Harada / Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) camouflaged in snow, Glacier National Park, Montana

Sumio Harada / American Bison (Bison bison) sub-adult in snow, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Ingo Arndt / Woodchuck (Marmota monax) emerging from snow after hibernation in its burrow, Minnesota

Ingo Arndt / Fisherman on Tisza River on foggy morning, Hungary

Ingo Arndt / Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) in early spring, North America

Winfried Wisniewski / Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) herd crossing the Mara River during migration, Kenya

Winfried Wisniewski / Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) herd crossing the Mara River during migration, Kenya

Winfried Wisniewski / Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) herd crossing the Mara River during migration, Kenya

Enrique Lopez-Tapia / Buddhist prayer flags in front of Mount Everest shrouded in mist, from Kala Pattar (5545 m). Sagarmatha National Park (World Heritage UNESCO). Khumbu / Everest Region, Nepal, Himalaya, October 2011.

Jim Brandenburg / Moose (Alces alces) bull and female in snow, North America

Andy Rouse / African lion (Panthera leo) two males resting on plains in front of thunderstorm, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Erlend Haarberg / Flowering Lupins (Lupinus sp) in front of the Svinafellsjokull glacier, Skaftafell National park, Iceland, June 2008

Murray Cooper / Many-spotted Hummingbird (Taphrospilus hypostictus) bathing in rain, eastern Andes, Ecuador

Michael Quinton / Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) walking in snow, Alaska

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel in heavy seas, North Sea, April 2009. Property released.

Philip Stephen / Norwegian guard vessel "Stril Tender" in heavy weather. North Sea, April 2009.

Philip Stephen / MFV coming alongside partner vessel to start pair trawling operations. North Sea, 2008. Property released.

Benoit Stichelbaut / Skipper Roland Jourdain on his Monohull Open 60ft "Veolia Environment" during Vendee Globe 2008-2009, October 2008.

Philip Stephen / The Statfjord Bravo production platform at dusk shrouded in mist with the dive support vessel Skandi Carla undertaking subsea operations in front, North Sea, September 2006

Philip Stephen / MFV coming alongside partner vessel to start pair trawling operations. North Sea, 2009. Property released.

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel in heavy seas, North Sea, April 2009. Property released.

Benoit Stichelbaut / Vincent Riou aboard 60ft PRB "Imoca" amongst sea spray, April 2008

Philip Stephen / Fishing trawler "Ocean Harvest" near an oil platform on the North Sea, June 2009.

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel "Harvester" punching through a wave, North Sea, August 2008. Property Released.

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel "Harvester" 40-50 miles East of Newcastle on the Barnacle Bank. October 2008. Property Released.

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel "Harvester" scattering seabirds while heading into waves on the North Sea, July 2009. Property Released.

Rick Tomlinson / J-Class "Velsheda" during Coastal Race 2, Rolex Maxi Cup, Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy. 8 September 2009.

Philip Stephen / Trawler in mist on the North Sea, July 2010. Property released.

Rick Tomlinson / "Green Dragon" at the start of leg one of the 10th Volvo Ocean Race, 2008-2009, Alicante, Spain, October 2008. For EDITORIAL USE only.

Richard Du Toit / Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) on dry salt pan, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

Colin Monteath / Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) group used for hunting, with their Kazak handlers competing at winter festival, Mongolia

Hiroya Minakuchi / Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) sitting in snow, Jigokudani, Japan

Hiroya Minakuchi / Japanese Serow (Capricornis crispus) in winter, Japan

Hiroya Minakuchi / Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) group feeding on seeds in snow, Jigokudani, Japan

Hiroya Minakuchi / Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) mother carrying baby in snow, Jigokudani, Japan

Hiroya Minakuchi / Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) feeding on seeds in snow, Jigokudani, Japan

Benoit Stichelbaut / Loctudy SNSM (Societe Nationale des Secours en Mer) lifeboat "Margodig" powering through waves. Brittany, France 2002.

Philip Stephen / MFV coming alongside partner vessel to start pair trawling operations. North Sea, 2009. Property released.

Nick Turner / Canal boats moored up on the Stroudwater navigation, Saul Canal Festival, Gloucestershire, UK, July 2008.

Nick Turner / Canal boats moored up on the Stroudwater navigation, Saul Canal Festival, Gloucestershire, UK, July 2008.

Donald M. Jones / White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) buck in winter, western Montana

Donald M. Jones / White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) buck in winter, western Montana

Donald M. Jones / White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) buck in winter, western Montana

Donald M. Jones / Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) perching on berries covered in snow, Troy, Montana

Colin Monteath / Domestic Cattle (Bos taurus) calves during spring rainshower with rainbow overhead, Takaka, Golden Bay, New Zealand

Pete Oxford / Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries) flock with shepherd in winter, Darkhad Depression, Mongolia

Pete Oxford / Yak (Bos grunniens mutus) and boy with sled carrying hay, Darkhad Depression, Mongolia

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel engulfed by seaspray on the North Sea, July 2009. Property released.

Philip Stephen / Fishing vessel in heavy seas, North Sea, April 2009. Property released.

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Clouds of the type Mammatus above Rio de Janeiro city, these clouds usually indicate the imminent arrival of a cold front cold, Brazil, June 2011

Scott Leslie / Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) group in winter, Nova Scotia, Canada

Scott Leslie / Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) group in winter, Nova Scotia, Canada

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) pair courting, Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) chick, Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) near colony, Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) regurgitating food for chick, Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) regurgitating food for chick, Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica

Tui De Roy / Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) feet, Prydz Bay, eastern Antarctica