Sylvain Cordier / Rice terracesnear Duoyishu village, Yuanyang, Yunnan, China.

Sylvain Cordier / Rice terraces at sunrise, near Duoyishu village, Yunnan Province, China.

Lucas Bustamante / Equatorial tropical climbing salamander (Bolitoglossa equatoriana) on wood, seen from above, Cuyabeno, Sucumbios, Ecuador.

Pal Hermansen / Common eider (Somateria mollissima) male landing, seen from above, Trondelag Norway, January. Winner of the Portfolio Award of the Terre Sauvage Nature Images Awards Competition 2017.

Ingo Arndt / American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), seen from above, Everglades, USA, January.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) interacting in the sea, seen from above, Fair Isle, Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK, July.

Mark Carwardine / Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) seen from directly above, Akaroa, Bank's Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand, November, endangered species

Ingo Arndt / American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), seen from above, Everglades, USA, January.

Franco Banfi / Giant manta ray (Manta birostris) seen from above, Revillagigedo Archipelago Biosphere Reserve, Socorro Islands, Western Mexico

Pal Hermansen / Common eider ducks (Somateria molissima) dense flock seen from above, Trondelag, Norway, January.

Gerrit Vyn / Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) chicks in the nest, seen from overhead, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA June

Jordi Chias / Blue shark (Prionace glauca) seen from above with pilot fish, Azores Islands, Portugal, Atlantic Ocean