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

Anup Shah / African Lion (Panthera leo) juvenile reaching out with curiosity, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. March

Edwin Giesbers / Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) close up portrait, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Uri Golman / Head portrait of photographer Uri Golman in temperatures of -40 degrees celsius, with frost in his beard. Greenland. March 2009. Model released

Ingo Arndt / Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), Uganda

Rod Williams / Northern / Chinese white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) female head portrait, Laos, Vietnam, critically endangered species. Captive.

Richard Du Toit / Cape Hare (Lepus capensis) portrait. South Africa, December.

Gerrit Vyn / Spotted owl (Strix nebulosa) Gifford-Pinchot National Forest, Washington USA

Alex Mustard / Sand diver (Synodus intermedius) portrait on a coral reef, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Grey angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus) portrait, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Sharpnose puffer (Canthigaster rostrata) portrait with the eyes standing out against a dark background, East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Island, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Schoolmaster snapper (Lutjanus apodus) above a coral reef, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Bluestriped grunt (Haemulon sciurus) portrait, West End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Glasseye snapper (Heteropriacanthus cruentatus) head portrait with a cleaning Goby (Gobiosoma genie) East End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Alex Mustard / Yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus) swimming above the reef, West End, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, Caribbean Sea.

Bernard Castelein / Southern plains grey langur ( Semnopithecus entellus / Presbytis entellus) close up face profile, Sawai Modhopur, Rajasthan, India

Laurie Campbell / Two caught Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) Isle of Skye, Hebrides, Scotland, August

Petra Wegner / Ogar Polski / Polish Hound, short haired male, head portrait.

Petra Wegner / Eurasier, head portrait.

Brent Stephenson / Australasian Gannet (Morus serrator) looking upwards or 'skypointing'. Cape Kidnappers, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, September.

Todd Mintz / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) at surface, Bahamas, Caribbean

Uri Golman / Asiatic lion cub (Panthera leo persica) looking up into tree, possibly at a bird, Gir Forest NP, Gujarat, India

Solvin Zankl / Wild Common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) Vienna Drosophila RNAi Center, Institute for Molecular Pathology, Austria [focus stacking]

Rod Williams / Young male North Chinese Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis). Captive. Endemic to northern China. Endangered. UK, June.

Mary McDonald / Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) male in water. Coastal Katmai National Park, southwest Alaska, USA, August.

Chadden Hunter / Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) close up of sleeping individual, South Georgia. Taken on location for BBC Frozen Planet series, 2008

Eric Baccega / Portrait of Harp seal (Phoca groenlandicus) pup on sea ice, Magdalen Islands, Gulf of St Lawrence, Quebec, Canada, March 2012

Petra Wegner / Miniature Wirehaired Dachshund sitting.

Petra Wegner / Border Collie puppy, 13 weeks.

Petra Wegner / Kooikerhondje / Small Dutch Waterfowl Dog portrait.

Konrad Wothe / Common green tree frog (Litoria caerulea) in rainforest, Iron Range National Park, Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland, Australia, October

Andy Rouse / Male Walrus (Odobenbus rosmarus) in shallow water. Svalbard, Norway, August.

Nick Garbutt / Adult Fossa (Crytoprocta ferox) female investigating automatic remote camera in leaf-litter. Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar, November.

Nuno Sa / Blue Shark (Prionace glauca) at the sea surface. Santa Maria, Azores, August.

Nuno Sa / Blue Sharks (Prionace glauca) at the sea surface. Santa Maria, Azores, August.

Doug Allan / Icefish (Chaenocephalus aceratus) Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica, Freeze Frame book plate page 92

Jan Hamrsky / Spread-winged Damselfly (Lestidae) nymph portrait. Europe, July.

Andrew Parkinson / Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) adult female among breaking waves, Lincolnshire, UK

Georgette Douwma / Bigeye Scad (Selarcrumenophthalmus). Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia.

Fiona Rogers / Bonobo (Pan paniscus) adolescent male wading through water, calling, Lola Ya Bonobo Sanctuary, Democratic Republic of Congo. October.

Pete Oxford / Portrait of an Emerald Glass Frog (Espadarana / Centrolenella prosoblepon). Captive. Choc Region of northwest Ecuador.

LYNN M. STONE / Portrait of English Springer Spaniel (field type). Elkhorn, Wisconsin, USA, January.

Juergen Freund / Face of a Common lionfish (Pterios volitans) on top of the reef. Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Mark Taylor / Tricolour Border Collie puppy.

Mark Taylor / Portrait of a young Little Owl (Athene noctua).

Fiona Rogers / Bornean Orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) mature male 'Tom' head and shoulders portrait. Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia, June 2010. Rehabilitated an...

Anup Shah / Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) female 'Yuni' and her baby aged 3-6 months - portrait. Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. July 2010. Rehabilit...

Anup Shah / Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) young mature male 'Gary' aged 16 years portrait. Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. July 2010. Rehabilitated a...

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 / Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) female 'Tata' and her unnamed baby aged 2-3 months portrait. Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. June 2010. Reh...

Anup Shah / Bornean Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) female 'Tutut' sitting with her sleeping baby 'Thor' aged 8-9 months. Camp Leakey, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. July...

Georgette Douwma / Giant Frogfish (Antennarius commerson) on coral reef. The animal can vary greatly in colour and pattern. Bali, Indonesia, December.

Anup Shah / Cape / African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) approaching with curiosity, herd in the background, wide angle perspective, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. September

Edwin Giesbers / Portrait of Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) looking directly at lens. The Netherlands, June.

Edwin Giesbers / Konik Wild Horse (Equus ferus caballus) yawning. The Netherlands, November.

Edwin Giesbers / Two Konik Wild Horse (Equus ferus caballus) interacting. The Netherlands, November.

Edwin Giesbers / House Mouse (Mus musculus) peering through hole in cheese. Captive.

Andy Rouse / Siberian Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) walking on snow. Captive. (non-ex)

Andy Rouse / Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) in water. Punta Espinoza, Galapagos, October.

Andy Rouse / European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) juvenile walking towards camera. UK, August.

Sergey Gorshkov / Sockeye Salmon (Salmonidae) spawning in Lake Kuril, Kamchatka, Far East Russia, August

Sergey Gorshkov / Kamchatka Brown bear (Ursus arctos beringianus) running through water, fishing, Kamchatka, Far east Russia, August

Fergus Gill / Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) portrait gazing alertly. Perthshire, Scotland, June

Fergus Gill / Grey seal pup (Halichoerus grypus) sleeping on a windswept beach. Scotland, Nov

Mark Carwardine / Hawaiian goose / Nene (Branta sandvicensis) looking down, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, UK, Captive, native to Hawaii, USA, Vulnerable species, September

Orsolya Haarberg / Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) female bathing, Hungary

Orsolya Haarberg / Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) sniffing, Telemark, Norway, June

John Cancalosi / Golden-mantled ground squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) with very full cheek pouches. Montana, USA, Oct 2010

Mark Carwardine / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) portrait, Captive, rescued as an orphan, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Uganda, Africa, Endangered species, October

Rod Williams / Francois' Langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) captive, from Vietnam, Laos and Southern China, Endangered

Rod Williams / Male Red-backed Bearded saki monkey (Chiropotes chiropotes) captive, from Venezuela

Solvin Zankl / Airdale terrier head portrait, sitting and panting Not available for ringtone/wallpaper use.

Solvin Zankl / Portrait of a Bouvier des Flander cross-breed dog, sitting and panting

Solvin Zankl / Cocker Spaniel head portrait, aged 5 years

Solvin Zankl / Head portrait of a German Shepherd, panting

Solvin Zankl / Grass snake (Natrix natrix) head portrait flicking tongue

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

Pete Oxford / Butterfly peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris) in permanent freshwater pond, savannah, Rupununi, Guyana

Pete Oxford / Great blue heron (Ardea herodias) portrait, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos Islands

Paul Hobson / Portrait of Puffin (Fratercula arctica) in nest burrow, Shetland, Scotland, UK, July

Bernard Castelein / Zanzibar Red Colobus (Procolobus kirkii) head portrait, Jozani Chwaka Bay NP, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Bernard Castelein / Zanzibar Red Colobus (Procolobus kirkii) head portrait of infact, sitting with mother, Jozani Chwaka Bay NP, Zanzibar, Tanzania

Bernard Castelein / Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) head portrait, at rest on leaf, Brasschaat, Belgium

Ernie Janes / Basset hound, portrait, looking out of car, UK

Ernie Janes / Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) with foal, captive, UK, endangered species

Ernie Janes / English Springer spaniel running over beach at low tide, August, UK

Anup Shah / Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) juvenile head portrait, low angle, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. March

Anup Shah / African Lion (Panthera leo) head portrait of juvenile male, relaxing playfully, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. April

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

Anup Shah / Savanna baboon, olive race (Papio cynocephalus anubis) head portrait of male, reaching out. Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. August

Eric Baccega / Moose (Alces alces) head portrait of bull standing in forest clearing, Cap Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada, September

Ernie Janes / Domestic goat (Capra hircus) pygmy goat bleeting, portrait, UK

Ernie Janes / Boer domestic goat (Capra hircus) waiting to be fed, Norfolk, UK, September

Ernie Janes / Black labrador dog resting on reeds used by thatcher to thatch roof, Norfolk, UK, November