Andy Rouse / Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus cristatus) courtship dance Cardiff, UK, March.

David Pattyn / Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) female sleeping with one of her 28 day chicks. The Netherlands, June.

Peter Cairns / American Bison (Bison bison) walking through deep snow, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, February.

Mark Taylor / Tabby cat, Max, 5 months, with smoke black kitten.

Pedro Narra / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) family swimming near the surface, Sado Estuary, Portugal

Richard Du Toit / Aerial photograph of Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) with white calf, near Cape Agulhas, South Africa, Southern Right Western Cape Province, Indian Ocean, August

Jack Dykinga / Rain spattered inter-locking palm leaves create a design of pattern and colour in the tropical rainforest. Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Petra Wegner,Petra Wegner / Golden Retriever, male in straw

Anup Shah / Lion (Panthera leo) male nuzzling lioness, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, July

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Ben Loyal reflected in a loch, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, November 2014

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / River flowing into Kyle of Tongue in morning light with view to Ben Loyal, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, December 2014.

SCOTLAND: The Big Picture / Saltmarsh exposed by low tide at sunset with view to Ben Loyal, Kyle of Tongue, Sutherland, Scotland, UK, December.