Excitement is already building for the prestigious photography competition as the organisers release a sneak-peek selection of 14 highly commended images.<\/p> Xingchao Zhu (China) comes face to face with a Pallas\u2019s cat<\/a> as the moon sets.\u00a0<\/p> Xingchao tracked a group of Pallas\u2019s cats on the freezing plateau of Inner Mongolia for several days during the Chinese New Year in February 2023. Shortly before dawn, Xingchao managed to make eye contact with this cat, just as it had caught a small bird.\u00a0<\/p> The thick winter coats of Pallas\u2019s cats help them survive at altitudes up to 5,000 metres (16,400 feet). They avoid larger predators by stealth, and it\u2019s thought that their low, rounded ears allow them to peer over obstacles while remaining hidden.<\/p> Location: Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, China<\/p> Theo Bosboom (The Netherlands) shows how mussels bind together to avoid being washed away from the shoreline.\u00a0<\/p> Theo likes to take images of species that aren\u2019t usually considered beautiful or important, to highlight their unappreciated significance. He took this image from above with a probe lens \u2013 a long, thin, macro wide-angle lens.\u00a0<\/p> Mussels play an important role in creating dynamic ecosystems for other marine invertebrates such as crustaceans, worms and even small fish. They improve the water quality by filter-feeding, extracting plankton as well as bacteria and toxins, which prevents them from building up to dangerous levels.<\/p> Location: Praia da Ursa, Sintra, Portugal<\/p> Sasha Jumanca (Germany\/Romania) finds two tawny owlets curiously watching people walking by.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Sasha had been watching these tawny<\/a> owlets for several days in a park near his home. He had seen tawny owls in the neighbourhood before but was surprised to discover these so close to the heart of the city.\u00a0<\/p> Owlets leave the nest before they can fly, in a phase known as \u2018branching\u2019. They will jump, flutter and climb around branches of nearby trees for several weeks while begging for food from their parents, before they eventually fledge and fly away.<\/p> Location: Maximiliansanlagen, Munich, Germany<\/p> Tommy Trenchard (South Africa) documents the bycatch of a requiem shark, its body arched in a final act of resistance.\u00a0<\/p> Tommy was travelling on the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. The ship\u2019s research expedition aimed to document the bycatch or accidental capture of sharks by fishing boats targeting tuna<\/a> and swordfish, and to highlight the lack of effective regulation of industrial-scale fishing in international waters.\u00a0<\/p> Approximately 80 million sharks are taken from the world\u2019s oceans every year. Because of fishing, numbers of sharks worldwide have dropped since 1970. Three quarters of all shark species are now at risk of extinction.<\/p> Location: International waters, South Atlantic Ocean<\/p> Georgina Steytler (Australia) observes a ball of male Dawson\u2019s burrowing bees vying for access to a female.\u00a0<\/p> Georgina has been studying these bees for a few years and knew she had to keep her distance. Lying on the hot, rocky, sun-baked ground with sand blowing in her face, her long lens enabled her to get the perfect image.\u00a0<\/p> When female Dawson\u2019s burrowing bees emerge in spring, they are surrounded by males competing to mate with them. After mating, the female bee will dig a new burrow filled with pollen and eggs, from which the hatched bees will emerge in spring.<\/p> Location: Near Carnarvon, Western Australia, Australia\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Randy Robbins (USA) is struck by the unusual beauty of the frosted form of this deer on the forest floor.\u00a0<\/p> On an early winter\u2019s morning, Randy was checking the trail cameras near his home when he found the body of this deer. He photographed this poignant moment using his smartphone before the ice could melt.<\/p> Location: Near Susanville, California, USA<\/p> William Fortescue (UK) uses a backdrop of storm clouds lit by the setting sun to show mating lions<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p> It was the rainy season when William visited the Serengeti National Park. He watched the lions mate several times before the female broke it off. It wasn\u2019t until William viewed an enlarged image that he noticed the saliva trails and the explosion of insects from the male\u2019s mane.\u00a0<\/p> Lions can mate throughout the year, but synchronising the births of cubs increases the reproductive success of a pride. Female pride members display cooperative behaviours, including raising cubs together to ensure their survival into adulthood.<\/p> Location: Namiri Plains, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania<\/p> Jose Manuel Grand\u00edo (Spain) braves below-zero temperatures to witness a stoat<\/a> jumping high into the air above the snow.\u00a0<\/p> Winter is Jose\u2019s favourite season for photography. When he spotted this stoat jumping mid-air on the last day of his trip, he saw this performance as an \u2018expression of exuberance\u2019 as the small mammal hurled itself about in a fresh fall of snow.\u00a0<\/p> Scientists refer to this behaviour as dancing, although opinions are divided about what motivates it, from an attempt to confuse prey through to a parasitic infection. Stoats are usually active at night and prey on small mammals and birds.<\/p> Location: Athose, Bourgogne-Franche-Comt\u00e9, France\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Lam Soon Tak (Malaysia) spots a vibrantly coloured David Bowie spider carrying an egg sac.\u00a0<\/p> Lam was exploring the highlands of Malaysia when he came across this spider. Perched on broken branches beside a river, the bright white disc of eggs in the spider\u2019s jaws and its orange body stood out against the lush green moss.\u00a0<\/p> Found in Malaysia, Singapore and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, this spider was named in 2008 by arachnologist and Bowie fan Dr Peter J\u00e4ger. He thought the striking markings up to the spider\u2019s head region resembled the make-up worn by the singer during the 1970s.<\/p> Location: Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Thomas Vijayan (Canada) utilises his drone to show the epic scale of the Br\u00e5svellbreen glacier.\u00a0<\/p> Encapsulating the magnificence of the Austfonna ice cap required meticulous planning and favourable weather conditions. Thomas\u2019s image, a stitched panorama of 26 individual frames, provides a spectacular summer view of meltwater plunging over the edge of the Br\u00e5svellbreen glacier.\u00a0<\/p> The Br\u00e5svellbreen glacier is part of Austfonna, Europe\u2019s third largest ice cap. This dome of ice is one of several that covers the land area of the Svalbard archipelago. Some scientific models suggest that Svalbard\u2019s glaciers could disappear completely within 400 years due to climate change.<\/p> Location: Svalbard, Norway<\/p> Tamara Stubbs (UK) spots these crabeater seals taking a nap among the sea ice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> In a standout moment on her nine-week expedition for Atlantic Productions in the Weddell Sea, Tamara noticed that seals had fallen asleep alongside the ship, with the tips of their nostrils at the water\u2019s surface. These two had bobbed up so they could take a deeper breath. <\/p> There are around four million crabeater seals in the Antarctic. Although they are not considered endangered or under threat, the seals are protected by international conservation agreements. More research is needed to understand the impact of climate change and tourism on their populations.\u00a0<\/p> Location: Weddell Sea, Antarctica<\/p> Shreyovi Mehta finds two Indian peafowl \u2018looking perfect for a picture\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> Shreyovi was walking in the forest with her parents when she spotted this scene. She ran back to her dad, who was carrying the cameras, then got down on the ground to take her photograph from a low angle.\u00a0<\/p> Renowned for its birdlife, Keoladeo attracts large numbers of water birds in winter. Peafowl are year-round residents that roost in large trees. They rest in the shade during the day and are more active in open areas at dawn and dusk.<\/p> Location: Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India\u00a0<\/p> Samual Stone (UK) watches as a jackdaw<\/a> brings stones to its nest.\u00a0<\/p> Samual had been keeping an eye on the hole in the trunk of a half-fallen willow tree in London\u2019s Bushy Park \u2013 he\u2019d seen a pair of jackdaws visiting with their beaks full of hair taken from the coats of local deer.\u00a0<\/p> Jackdaws are highly intelligent and adaptable. They build new nests each year, from all sorts of materials: twigs, branches, feathers, wool, moss, mud and animal dung. This pair kept adding rocks to theirs.<\/p> Location: Bushy Park, London, England, UK<\/p> Ian Ford (UK) documents the moment a jaguar<\/a> delivers a fatal bite to a caiman in the Pantanal.<\/p> A call over the radio alerted Ian that a jaguar had been spotted prowling the banks of a S\u00e3o Louren\u00e7o River tributary. Kneeling in the boat, he was perfectly placed when the cat delivered the skull-crushing bite to the unsuspecting yacare caiman.<\/p> The South American Pantanal wetland supports the highest density of jaguars anywhere in the world. With prey being so abundant, there is no need to compete for food, and the usually solitary big cats have been seen fishing, travelling and playing together.\u00a0<\/p> Location: Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil<\/p> Wildlife Photographer of the Year<\/a> is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum<\/a>, London<\/em>.<\/p> Learn how to take incredible photographs with our expert guides<\/strong><\/p> A jaguar delivering a lethal bite, sleeping seals and two adorable baby owls are just a few of the breathtaking images to feature in the 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":41308,"template":"","categories":[1,200],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"10"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2024-deadly-jaguar-bite-among-14-highly-commended-photos.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"A jaguar delivering a lethal bite, sleeping seals and two adorable baby owls are just a few of the breathtaking images to feature in the 60th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/41307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2024 preview gallery<\/h2>
Moonlight Hunter by Xingchao Zhu<\/h3>
![\"Xingchao](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Xingchao-Zhu-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Strength in Numbers by Theo Bosboom<\/h3>
![\"Theo](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Theo-Bosboom-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Leaving the Nest by Sasha Jumanca<\/h3>
![\"Sasha](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Sasha-Jumanca-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Hooked by Tommy Trenchard<\/h3>
![\"Tommy](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Tommy-Trenchard-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Centre of Attention by Georgina Steytler<\/h3>
![\"Georgina](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Georgina-Steytler-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
The Last Resting Place by Randy Robbins<\/h3>
![\"Randy](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Randy-Robbins-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Stormy Scene by William Fortescue<\/h3>
![\"William](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/William-Fortescue-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Twist and Jump by Jose Manuel Grand\u00edo<\/h3>
![\"Jose](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Jose-Manuel-Grandio-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Ziggy Spider by Lam Soon Tak<\/h3>
![\"Lam](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Lam-Soon-Tak-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
The Disappearing Ice Cap by Thomas Vijayan<\/h3>
![\"Thomas](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Thomas-Vijayan-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year-2.jpeg\")
Going with the Floe by Tamara Stubbs<\/h3>
![\"Tamara](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Tamara-Stubbs-and-Atlantic-Productions-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
In the Spotlight by Shreyovi Mehta<\/h3>
![\"Shreyovi](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Shreyovi-Mehta-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Precious Rocks by Samual Stone<\/h3>
![\"Samual](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Samual-Stone-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
Deadly Bite by Ian Ford<\/h3>
![\"Ian](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Ian-Ford-Wildlife-Photographer-of-the-Year.jpeg\")
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