Nick Upton / Harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) cleaning its nose on Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) flowerhead after release, Moulton, Northampton, UK, June.

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a Linnaeus' sipo snake (Chironius exoletus) with open mouth, part of threat display, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Parrot snake (Leptophis ahaetulla) threat display, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Oscar Dewhurst / Mute swan (Cygnus olor), two cygnets sheltering under parent's wing. Richmond Park, London, England, UK. April.

Gary Bell/ Oceanwide / Oriental Flying Gurnard (Dactyloptena orientalis) with pectoral fins extended in defense posture, Anilao, Philippines

Matthew Maran / Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) cub defending its kill,a large Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) from another cub, North London, UK. August. Highly commended in the Behaviour : Mammals Category of the Wildlife Ph...

Tony Wu / Sardines (Clupeidae) fleeing from predators in the early morning. They were being herded and chased by Trevallies and Blacktip reef sharks in the water, and picked off by brown boobies and terns from...

Nigel Cattlin / Large rose sawfly (Arge pagana) larvae feeding on ornamental rose leaves in summer, Berkshire, September

John Shaw / Common eider duck (Somateria mollissima) female defending her nest from arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus). Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen. June.

Georgette Douwma / Boxer Crab (Lybia tessellata) with sea anemones in its claws for defense. Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Jen Guyton / Park ranger holding a Temminck's ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), after rescuing it from poachers. This individual was later released back into the wild. Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.

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