Denis-Huot / Masai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) male and female (back). Masai-Mara Game Reserve, Kenya.

Ingo Arndt / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) mother with cub, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska

Anup Shah / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) rear view of dominant male Silverback 'Makumba' aged approx 32 years standing on a forest track, Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve...

Erlend Haarberg / Male European elk / Moose (Alces alces) in undergrowth, Sarek National Park, Sweden, September

Petra Wegner / Siberian forest cat kitten walking, 7 weeks, white coat

Andy Sands / Digger Wasp (Cerceris arenaria) carrying large weevil back to burrow, paralysed as food for larvae. London, England, UK, July.

Roy Mangersnes / Arctic fox (Alopex / Vulpes lagopus) standing, near Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway, August

Nick Turner / Men pulling on a rope in a tug of war competition, Cotswold Olimpicks, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, June 2011.

George Sanker / Two Least Chipmunks (Tamias minimus) sitting on tree stump feeding, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA, October, crop of 1373882

Donald M. Jones / Common Loon (Gavia immer) stretching wings, Troy, Montana

Brent Stephenson / Gentoo Penguins (Pygoscelis papua) porpoising on the way back to the breeding colony. Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, January.

Brent Stephenson / A cruise ship heads back up the Beagle Channel towards Ushuaia at the end of an Antarctic cruise. Beagle Channel, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, South America, December.

Mike Read / Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) calling, Falkland Islands

Ole Jorgen Liodden / King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) emerging from the sea to get back to their colony. South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean, November.

Kevin Schafer / Southern / Double-wattled cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) wild, adult male feeding on mushroom from tree trunk, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, November

Ross Hoddinott / Marbled White Butterfly (Melanargia galathea) resting on grass stem, Devon, UK July. Winner of Seasons category of the BWPA 2011 competition

Ernie Janes / A person looking out onto the Erg Chebbi Dunes. Sahara Desert, Morocco, North Africa, March 2011.

Juergen Freund / Split level image of Papuan fisherman standing on his dugout canoe over shallow corals, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, June 2010

Jane Burton / Sable Border Collie puppy, 9 weeks, looking over his shoulder.

Jane Burton / Sable Border Collie puppy, 9 weeks, sitting.

Simon Colmer / Blue bottle fly (Calliphora vicina) lying upside down, dead, on white background, Sussex, UK

Kristel Richard / Silhouette of two traditionally dressed Indian riders, mounted on Kathiawari mares, backlit at sunset, in Gujarat, India, January 2011, Model released

Hiroya Minakuchi / Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) near surface, Baja California, Mexico

ZSSD / Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) young on mother's back, native to South America

Donald M. Jones / Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri), western Montana

Anup Shah / Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) female 'Peta' carrying her baby daughter 'Petra' aged 12 months. Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. June 2010....

Anup Shah / White-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) and Black-back jackal (Canis mesomelas) feeding from the carcass of a Cape buffalo (Cyncerus caffer) - wide angle perspective. Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya...

Sergey Gorshkov / Aerial view of Caribou / Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) trotting through shallow water, Kamchatka, Far east Russia, August

David Noton / Woman and man with livestock walking along path, Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, December 2009

Hiroya Minakuchi / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) pair gulp feeding, Antarctica

Charlie Summers / African lion (Panthero leo) male giving flehmen grimace, Tanzania, East Africa

Anup Shah / Lappet-faced vultures (Aegypius / Torgos tracheliotos) head portrait, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. March

Ernie Janes / Basset hound, portrait, resting head on back of car, eyes half closed, UK

LYNN M. STONE / Pair of English Springer Spaniels, one black and white, one liver and white, amongst autumn leaves with pumpkins in cart, Illinois, USA

LYNN M. STONE / Persian kitten (baby doll type) in strawberry basket, Illinois, USA

Ernie Janes / West highland terrier amongst cultivated garden flowers

Nick Garbutt / King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) displaying on the beach front. Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, Antarctica. January, sequence 5/6

John Cancalosi / Blacktail Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) engaging in Jump-yip behavior - A strong arch of the back or "jump" followed by a shrill "yip" - Thought to occur when a predator has left the area and in...

Jane Burton / Golden Retriever, Jez, carrying toys in a basket, with a baby girl aged 6 months riding on his back. Model released

Roger Powell / Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) male perched on a favourite stone, and calling at lek, Castro Verde, Portugal, April

Guy Edwardes / Grey-breasted Spurfowl (Pternistis rufopictus) calling, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, Africa February

Anup Shah / Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) head portrait of male, with Cattle egret on its back (Bubulcus ibis). Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. February.

Ann & Steve Toon / Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) with young offspring, Mlilwane nature reserve breeding programme, Swaziland, Southern Africa

Kristel Richard / A wild Misaki-uma breeding stallion (right) brings back one of his mares to his band while another breeding stallion (left) charges him away, in the Cape Toi Reserve, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu Islan...

David Woodfall / Traditional lave net fisherman (a method dating back at least 1,500 years) fishing for salmon. This Severn Estuary way of life is threatened by proposed barrage. Gloucestershire, England, July 2009, M...

Eric Baccega / European grey wolf (Canis lupus) howling in snow covered forest, captive. Bayerischerwald National Park, Germany.

Jerry Monkman / Nature Conservancy employees cutting back Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) in an invasive species eradication effort on the TNC's Silverweed Seep preserve in Plainfield, New Hampshire, USA.

Tom Clarke / Rear view of tradional feather headdress and jewellery of Huli wigman, Tari Valley, Papua New Guinea, during filming of BBC series Planet Earth, August 2004.

Kevin Schafer / Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) throwing sand onto its back, Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India

Doug Perrine / Salmon shark {Lamna ditropis} captive, with salmon in mouth (eyes are rolled back for protection), Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, (digitally modified)

Mark Bowler / Worker Honey bee (Apis mellifera) with pollen sac on back leg

Mark Taylor / Brown Roan Italian Spinone puppy, Riley, 13 weeks, chewing his tail

Wild Wonders of Europe / Munier / Rear view of Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) grazing with snow on its back, Dovrefjell National Park, Norway, February 2009

Richard Du Toit / Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) male with Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) pair on back, Chobe National Park, Botswana

Fred Bavendam / Humpback Rockcod (Cromileptes altivelis), Uepi Island, Solomon Islands

Jasper Doest / Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), Abisko, Sweden

Jim Brandenburg / Common Loon (Gavia immer) swimming, Minnesota

Suzi Eszterhas / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching, Sea of Cortez, Baja California, Mexico

Piotr Naskrecki / Scorpion young on the back of their mother, their soft cuticle is not yet reflecting ultraviolet light, Brownsberg Nature Park, Surinam

Donald M. Jones / American Robin (Turdus migratorius) male, Troy, Montana

Thomas Marent / Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) female with baby on back, Camp Leaky, Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesia

Vincent Grafhorst / Southern Giraffe (Giraffa giraffa) silhouetted against the setting sun, Lethiau Valley, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Konrad Wothe / Camargue Horse (Equus caballus) group running at sunset, Camargue, France

Kevin Schafer / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) group feeding, Chatham Strait, Alaska

Anup Shah / African lion {Panthera leo} rear view of young cub looking over the back of lioness, Masai Mara GR, Kenya

ZSSD / Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) baby clinging to mother's back, critically endangered, native to Africa

Flip Nicklin / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Maui, Hawaii - notice must accompany publication; photo obtained under NMFS permit 0753-1599

Jane Burton / Back view of two sitting Siberian Husky pups, 6 weeks old, looking to one side

Suzi Eszterhas / Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) 10 month old infant riding on mother's back, endangered, Parc National Des Volcans, Rwanda

Konrad Wothe / Okapi (Okapia johnstoni) parent with young, native to tropical forests of northern Congo

Peter Blackwell / Back view of Crested porcupine {Hystrix cristata} walking away, Central Kenya

Eric Baccega / Two King penguins sleeping, rear view, Kerguelen Is, Sub-antarctic {Aptenodytes patagoni}

Tui De Roy / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching in summer feeding grounds, Southeast Alaska

Pete Oxford / Red and Green Macaw (Ara chloroptera) flying, wings spread, back view, wild, ranges from humid east Panama to Brazil, east Peru, north-east Bolivia and Paraguay, Cerrado habitat, Mato Grosso do Sul, B...

Mark Moffett / Golden Poison Dart Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) the most poisonous of the dart frogs, male carrying tadpoles on his back, Colombia

Michio Hoshino / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) shaking off water after a bath, Alaska

Chris Newbert / Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) pair cleaning a Moray Eel (Gymnothorax ocellatus) 80 feet deep, Solomon Islands

Michio Hoshino / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) group cooperatively feeding on Capelin, Alaska

Mark Moffett / Leafcutter Ant (Atta cephalotes) workers carrying leaves back to nest, Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Richard Du Toit / Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) grazing under tree, Kalahari Gemsbok Park, South Africa

ZSSD / Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) mother walking away with 48 day old baby on back, native to Africa

Mitsuaki Iwago / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) group bubble net feeding, Alaska

Jim Brandenburg / Gemsbok (Oryx gazella) running across sand dune, Namib Desert, Namibia

Mitsuaki Iwago / African Lion (Panthera leo) mother with cub at dawn, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Mitsuaki Iwago / Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) with Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) on its back, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Mitsuaki Iwago / African Lion (Panthera leo) cubs playing, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Mitsuaki Iwago / Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) sleeping on back, Serengeti

Flip de Nooyer / Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) three cygnets on parent's back, Europe

Gerry Ellis / African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) orphans with keepers, led by Natumi back to stockade, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

Mike Parry / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) swimming, Tonga

Mike Parry / Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mother and calf, Tonga

Matthias Breiter / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) cubs silhouetted against water at sunrise, Katmai National Park, Alaska