Nature Production / Bombardier Beetle (Pheropsophus jessoensis) protecting itself by ejecting a boiling, noxious chemical spray, Nagasaki, Japan.

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) attacking an Arctic Fox (Vulpes / Alopex lagopus) protecting its nest site, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. Highly commended, MAMMALS, GDT 2011 competition

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Variegated Jawfish (Opistognathus solorensis) male brooding eggs in mouth, Anilao, Philippines

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Variegated Jawfish (Opistognathus solorensis) male brooding eggs in mouth, Anilao, Philippines

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Intermediate Cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus intermedius) male incubating eggs in mouth, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Intermediate Cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus intermedius) male incubating eggs in mouth, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Intermediate Cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus intermedius) male incubating eggs in mouth, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

David Fleetham / Ring-tailed cardinalfish (Ostorhinchus aureus), male protecting and incubating eggs in mouth, Philippines.

Roy Mangersnes / Juvenile female Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) lying down protecting a seal carcass at sunset, Svalbard, Norway, March.

Ingo Arndt / King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) rookery crowded with nesting birds incubating eggs or protecting their small chicks, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia Island, February 2011

Avijan Saha/ BIA / Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) herd crossing road, West Bengal, India

Marie Read / Eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), pair, one adult feeding one of two chicks riding on the other adult's back, Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge, Montana, USA