Headlock
The photographer writes: These guillemots were nesting on a small rocky cliff ledge where space was at a premium. The nests were all crammed in close together, which is not a good recipe for being good neighbours as guillemots are fiercely territorial. Aggression and battles are frequent over nesting space and I captured this image of this bemused looking bridled guillemot, its head firmly clamped in his/her neighbour’s beak. I liked the way the guillemot was looking directly into my lens, its white eyeliner eyes highlighting its predicament! Sometimes you just want to bite your neighbours head off … literally!Photograph: Warren Price
The frog prince of the grapevine
Meet the frog prince of my little garden – he’s been lazing around guarding my grapevine, waiting for a kiss, but I think he is just here for the grapes. This charming amphibian seems to have mistaken the vine for his royal court, lounging among the plump fruit as if he’s the monarch of the orchard.Photograph: Beate Ammer
Darling, please stop
During a photo safari in Serengeti national park in Tanzania, we were following this pair of lions in love. Unfortunately, they were disturbed by a violent thunderstorm, which dampened their enthusiasm! It created a cute scene with both of them shaking off the rain, but the male always prevailed due to his impressive mane!Photograph: Massimo Felici
Steller’s sea eagles practice kung fu tango
Steller’s sea eagles are the heaviest eagles in the world, weighing up to 9kg and with wingspans up to 2.5 metres. They can be found in northern Russia, northern Japan and Korea and it is estimated there are only about 4,500 adults left. During winter an excellent place to photograph these giants of the air is on Hokkaido, northern Japan. Here, temperatures are regularly -18C. In February and March each year a large ice floe occurs off the coast near the town of Rausu, and it was on a boat trip to the ice floe, which began before sunrise, the image was taken. The eagles are seen in large numbers on the ice floe and compete for fish with the smaller white-tailed eagles. The challenge is to pick out individual action from a busy scene. As the sun rose and gave spectacular golden light to the birds and reflected off the ice, I saw this pair squabbling over a fish. Not only did one eagle appear to kick the other eagle while having its foot on a fish, they both elevated one wing in unison as if in a synchronised dance. The image was captured using a Nikon Z9 mirrorless digital camera with zoom lensPhotograph: Michael Lane
Squirrel airborne: surrender mode
A few years ago, a simple wooden hide was available for rent in a forest near my home, known for its lively red squirrel population. I had visited the spot several times before, and eventually began experimenting with capturing squirrels mid-jump. This resulted in countless blurry shots but also a few fun and quirky moments – including the one I submitted. Sadly, the forest has since been cut down due to an infestation of bark beetles, but I still cherish the images I captured of these agile and comical little acrobats. I thought this flying squirrel looks like it’s throwing in the towel mid-air, arms wide, total surrender!Photograph: Stefan Cruysberghs
What do you mean I need to see a dentist?
I spotted this porcupinefish in the shallow waters of the Sea of Cortez. Among the group, she stood out immediately – her mouth stayed open, giving her a comic look of perpetual shock. On closer inspection, I realised she couldn’t close it at all; a thick layer of algae had begun to grow inside. Holding my breath, I sank to the sandy bottom to capture her head-on, joking to her (or to myself): ‘Dude, you’re due a dentist visit,’ making myself laugh out loud under water. And now, as this photo becomes a Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards finalist, I hope it brings a laugh to others too. But beneath the humour lies a quiet truth: marine life is fragile, especially as oceans acidify and ecosystems shift. Without comprehensive healthcare like ours, even small ailments can become fatal. Through empathy and mindful choices, I hope we can create a world where wildlife can thrive as we doPhotograph: Bingqian Gao
Welcome to Zen lemur yoga course
Instructor lemur demonstrates perfect enthusiasm, reaching high to embrace the universe. Student lemur contemplates whether enlightenment is worth this much effort before breakfast. Flexibility? Optional. Dramatic flair? Mandatory.Photograph: Andrey Giljov
Relaxing in the trees
This yellow-cheeked gibbon was just hanging out in the trees. Looks like he’s waiting for a beer to be servedPhotograph: Diana Rebman
Hornbill in a hurry
I was in a hide in Zimanga, South Africa, photographing white-backed vultures, or rather hoping to, when this southern yellow-billed hornbill appeared and proceeded to position itself immediately in front of the hide, obscuring any clear shots of the vultures. After several frustrating minutes, a harris hawk came in rather quickly from the right, coinciding with the hornbill’s departure. However, the hornbill’s expression appears to be one of sheer panic, suggesting the hawk is eyeing the hornbill up for breakfast. Having both birds in the photo helps sell the story and increase the sense of urgency of the hornbill. Don’t worry, the hornbill departed unscathed!Photograph: Geoff Martin
Battle hug
I have limited mobility and often use a mobility scooter to do wildlife photography, so I often stick to my local park, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio park in Singapore. While out on a typical overcast morning at the park, my attention snapped towards two monitors locked in battle in the distance. They were very close to the main path, yet they seemed completely unfazed by the people walking, jogging, cycling by or taking phone videos. In person, the fight felt like an intense battle of strength even though the movements were quite slow. Not unlike an evenly matched arm wrestle. My photos didn’t reflect this epic battle of wills at all! Instead, the photos looked like sweet, affectionate snuggles so I just went with it. I don’t often see monitor lizards fighting as they are mostly solitary. However, it wasn’t surprising to see monitor lizards fighting in this area as it’s right under trees where herons are known to nest. That means eggs and food often fall to the ground, not to mentioned it’s also next to the river. So, this is prime monitor lizard territory worth fighting for. Just after this photo, a third, larger monitor came up, whipped them both with its powerful tail, entered the battle and ultimately won the day, fighting off both the other monitors. I watched this battle sequence unfold over 10 minutes. It was quite a fight to witness from an urban park pathPhotograph: Jessica Emmett
Peek-a-boo
A Sri Lankan elephant playing peek-a-boo with his earsPhotograph: Henry Szwinto
Outdoor smoking zone
During the spring months, I was commissioned to photograph the urban wildlife of a city near my home town in Bavaria. After several early mornings by the pond, I decided to return once more to the same spot. It was a very cold morning, with temperatures low enough to make the breath visible. As the first rays of sunlight broke through from behind, I noticed a mallard perched on a fence, calling out into the air. I quickly pressed the shutter, hoping to capture the visible breath streaming from its beak. The scene made me smile – it looked as if the duck had just stepped outside for a quick smoke in the cold morning lightPhotograph: Lars Beygang
High five
This photograph was taken during a trip to Rwanda earlier this year, where we spent four unforgettable days trekking through the misty Virunga mountains in search of the gorilla families that call them home. On this particular day, we came across a large family group gathered in a forest clearing. The adults were calmly foraging while the youngsters were enthusiastically playing. One young male was especially keen to show off his acrobatic flair, pirouetting, tumbling and high kicking. Watching his performance was pure joy, and I’m thrilled to have captured his playful spirit in this imagePhotograph: Mark Meth-Cohn
Monkey circus
My wife, Nellie, and I were on our honeymoon in the Hwange national park in Zimbabwe, known for its vast landscapes and its huge elephant herds. We were there at the beginning of the rainy season and witnessed how nature wakes up after the first rains in many months. Although animals had dispersed and were harder to see, we could feel the excitement brought by the rains everywhere. One evening on our way to the camp we bumped into a troop of baboons playing in a huge tree. One of the baboons was sitting on a big brunch and the others were running up and down the tree in circles. Every time they passed by the sitting baboon it was trying to catch them in a funny way. This play continued for more than 15 minutes and the baboons seemed to really enjoy itPhotograph: Kalin Botev
It’s tough being a duck
This picture was taken on a very dull day. When the duck was sitting on the surface of the sea loch and a shaft of light broke through the clouds and lit him up, he seemed to go into holiday moodPhotograph: John Speirs
Pied Piper penguins
Our last day of shooting in the Falkland Islands, after a week of island hopping, was at Volunteer Point, a headland on the east coast of East Falkland, north-east of Stanley. It received its name in 1815 when the sealing ship Volunteer left a boat’s crew there to collect seal skins while it went in search of opportunities elsewhere. Volunteer Point is notable for having about 2,000 pairs of king penguins breed here, at the most northerly part of their range. King penguins were once nearly extinct in the Falklands, and Volunteer Point contains most of the Falkland population. I spent most of the day lying on my belly, often in the sand, watching the kings. What a show! Not far away, a shepherd tended his flock, and it appeared for a moment that these king penguins were leading the way. Long live the kings!Photograph: Ralph Robinson
Stretch your leg
Originally, I was just planning on taking a road trip through the Everglades on my day off to revisit known locations to combine them with my new passion for wildlife photography. When I got to this spot, I was planning to shoot gators as they used to hang out in the area and were easy to spot from the boardwalk. The gators took it rather easy that day and were mostly just sitting motionless in the pond. I kept my eyes open to see other animals in the area like birds and mammals. That’s when I saw this guy on the boardwalk. People didn’t even notice the animal right there. I aimed my camera at it. I kept a good distance to not scare it away as I took a bunch of photos. It knew that it was in the spotlight and started its moves as I had my camera aimed at it. The little guy wasn’t shy at all. On the other hand, this also gave me a chance to try out the capabilities of my camera as I had just switched to mirrorless and upgraded my camera equipment for the first time in 17 years. Of course I was astounded by what technology had made possible since I bought my old camera Photograph: Peter Reinold
Bad hair day
I was in a local park in downtown Victoria when I saw a grey blur run by. When I looked closer I saw a mother grey squirrel was relocating her babies to a new nest. The grass was dewy that morning so she was getting a wet tail as she ran through the grass. As she entered her new nest her tail was sticking out, so when she turned around to leave, for a short second her head was covered by her wet tail. When I saw her it made me smile thinking I know that moment where you have just washed your hair and the doorbell goes! I also loved the textures and colours of the bark of the arbutus tree surrounding herPhotograph: Christy Grinton
Great hair day
The subject of the photograph is an Amazonian umbrellabird – Cephalopterus ornatus. I photographed it in a forest in the Pantanal in Brazil. It seemed to be unwell and unable to fly so contact was made with a vet in a town some distance from where I was and they came out and took it away for treatment. I hope it had a good outcome. In flight and when foraging, the crest of feathers on the head that obscure the face when pushed forward are pushed back into a spike – when forward it can only make one laugh as it looks ridiculousPhotograph: David Fettes
Landing gears down
This photograph came about as a hard-won victory of patience. I have been photographing red-throated loons for several years. I lie on the edge of a bond under a camouflage net and photograph their spring courtship displays from my hide. The ground is wet and cold. That morning, an unseasonable early spring snowfall caught me by surprise, making photography almost impossible. I decided to stay, and the snowfall faded into quiet, beautiful drifting flakes, and a thin mist rose from the surface of the lake. Another red-throated loon on the lake had turned white from the snowfall. I noticed that its mate was arriving at the lake, and I managed to get it in my camera’s focus against the grey sky. I lost it for a moment, but caught it again just before it landed on the water. The red-throated loon is quite a poor flyer, and its landing is usually very wobbly: it seeks balance with its legs stretched backwards and then belly-lands to glide. I like to say they use the water as their runway. This time the bird came straight towards me and was so steady you might imagine it had taken flying lessons. The photograph has travelled with me in my exhibitions and it always elicits a chuckle from viewers. There is something funny about it. I thought it would be perfect for this competition to bring joy to its viewersPhotograph: Erkko Badermann
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