There are curious meerkats and leaping squirrels. A elusive tapir can be seen, as well as a brown bear that takes a break in the tree beside an eagle. And a sweet moment between two lions.
These are just a few of the topics that make up the shortlist of 25 subjects for the People’s Choice Award. It is part of the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the year competition.
After reviewing more than 50,000 submissions from 95 countries, organizers decided on 25 images to shortlist. Now the public can vote for their choice.
Today’s vote will open and close at noon on Tuesday February 2nd 2022. At an, the photo with the highest ranking will be displayed Exhibition in London’s Natural History Museum, June 5-2022
However, some photos may not be easy to see. A heartbreaking photo shows an Amazon river dolphin being saved. Another captures a Kangaroo with her baby, framed in a forest fire.
Natalie Cooper, a researcher at The Natural History Museum, was part of the judging panel. Picking just one image from these pictures is a daunting task. We look forward to finding the wild moment that will be chosen by the public.

The meerkats of the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa, are extremely relaxed when around humans. Thomas was almost completely absent from their lives, and they were far too focused on lounging or hunting. Thomas was able get close enough to use his wide angle lens to capture the mountains and savannah they called home.

In the Lishan Nature Reserve in Shanxi Province, China, Qiang watched as two male golden pheasants continuously swapped places on this trunk – their movements akin to a silent dance in the snow. They are native to China where they live in dense forest areas. They are brightly colored but shy and hard to spot. The birds spend most of their time searching for food in the forest floor.

Minghui spotted a team of ants working together to control a green katydid, in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden. It was Yunnan Province. The ants aren’t necessarily deadly, but they can be seen “farming” some insects such as leaf hoppers. To ensure leaf hoppers’ protection against predators and parasites, the ants provide leaf hoppers with sweet sap.

Iberian lynxes are among the most endangered cat species in the world. This is due to habitat destruction, declining food sources, illegal hunting and car accidents. The species can now be found in small parts of Spain and Portugal thanks to conservation efforts. Antonio captured this image while leading a conservation project based around photography in Peñalajo, Castilla La Mancha, Spain. Knowing that a family lynx would use this waterhole for drinking, Antonio built a hide nearby.

Yung Sen Wu was attracted to the blue seascape by the barracudas that were swimming in Blue Corner (Palau), in the western Pacific. After four days of swimming with them, his formation changed constantly and he was unable to find the ideal angle. His luck improved on the fifth day when the fish began to welcome him into their group. He began to see the fish swimming around him and thought of the way they saw each other. He had to work hard to maintain his position in school because the fish were very fast. He finally achieved his perfect fish eye view after a hard 50-minute period.

Sometimes, black bear cubs climb trees and wait patiently for their mothers to bring them food. The little cub found a spot in Alaska’s temperate forest of Anan, where he decided to rest on a branch covered in moss. This was under the supervision of a juvenile, bald eagle. Jeroen was amazed at the extraordinary situation after Jeroen observed that the eagle had been sat in this pine tree for several hours.

Zhang Qiang had been visiting China’s Qinling Mountains for the purpose of observing the Sichuan snubnosed monkeys. The females and the young gather together to provide warmth and protection when it’s time for rest. That moment of intimacy is captured perfectly in this photo. You can see the unmistakable blue features of this young monkey nestled between two females with their striking golden-orange fur.

Many plains zebras had gathered at Okaukuejo, Etosha National park, Namibia to get water. As one unit, they moved together tightly and lowered their heads in order to drink water. Then, nearly immediately after drinking, they lifted their heads and searched for danger. For five minutes, this continued. Lucas concentrated hard to focus on one animal with its head down. Just before they left Lucas captured the photo he believes best captures the iconic black-and white striped animals.

The open water provides a final opportunity for the grizzly bees on the Fishing Branch River, Yukon, Canada to feast before hibernating. It was averaging around -30°C (-22°F) and Andy had been waiting and hoping that one particular female bear would use this log to cross the stream. Eventually she did just that and he got the picture he’d envisioned – her fur, wet from fishing, had frozen into icicles and ‘you could hear them tinkle as she walked past’

During a visit to the Maasai Mara, Kenya, Ashleigh McCord captured this tender moment between a pair of male lions. She was initially only taking photos of one of the male lions. The rain had just stopped briefly, but the second male lion had briefly approached her and welcomed her before deciding to move on. The rain became a torrential downpour and the second male returned to sit, as though he was trying to protect the other. They rubbed their faces shortly after that and continued nuzzling for a while.

Peter watched in amazement as the herd of elephants stood close to him, pushing their young into central group protection. One bull elephant tried to take a baby calf away from his mother. Peter was taking photographs of the Addo Elephant Reserve in South Africa when the baby let out an audible scream. The herd reacted instantly – blowing loud calls, flapping ears and then surrounding the young and reaching out their trunks for reassurance

Jan enjoyed watching the blackbird fly by his front door in Greifswald. It was spring, and the blackbird decided to make her nest in an old garden shed. She raised her children in the garden paradise, quietly and secretly. With this image Jan wanted to highlight that we don’t have to go far to experience the beauty of nature – sometimes something as simple as a blackbird making her home in a rundown hut is enough

California received twice as much rainfall in 2017 than it receives each year. When the lakes were full, the grebes constructed nests and laid eggs. They made floating nests near the bottom of the shallow water, between the rushes or reeds. In this picture, the chicks hitch a cosy ride on a parent’s back soon after hatching. The picture was taken just a few days following a severe storm, which unfortunately washed out almost all the grebe nests.

Santa Croce Lake can be found in Belluno Province, Italy. Cristiano noted that the water level was unusually high in winter 2019, and that the willow plants had been partially submerged. This created a beautiful play of light reflections. In the icy stillness, he waited to capture it in colder temperatures.

Michiel took this photo of Dantita, as she is fondly known, at the foothills of Braulio Carrillo National Park, close to San José in central Costa Rica. The Baird’s tapir or ‘gardeners of the forest’ are extremely important to their natural habitat, with some seeds only germinating after passing through the animal. There are only about 6,000 wild Baird’s tapirs left, with the rest being endangered by hunting and deforestation.

Satyr tragopans are a very rare Asian pheasant species. They are often hunted for their plumage and food, but are usually shy and skittish. The birds seem relaxed and at ease in this Bhutanese village, near Punakha. Dhritiman attempted to photograph the Indian satyrtragopan since 2008 but was unsuccessful. The birds ran away every time he was spotted. He was struck by the harmonious coexistence of Bhutanese communities and their species.

Javier noticed this female thorned orb weaver spider while out walking in the Amazon rainforest close to Tena. These female spiders hang from strong silk threads and spend hours wrapping their eggs in silken cocoons. The egg case looked like a full moon on a dark night.

Marco Gaiotti was watching the little Arctic Fox call another one nearby. He noticed that the wet breath of the fox was freezing in the air immediately after every call. It was late winter in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, and the cold arctic air was -35°C (-31°F). Although arctic foxes are often fast-paced and looking for food, it can sometimes be difficult to photograph them. This one, however, was relaxed enough that Marco could get near enough to capture the details. Marco also had the perfect background light.

Here, in a forest enclosure, a keeper takes care of babies – they are encouraged to mix with others of a similar age, make nests and forage for food. Due to overexploitation – industrial logging and land clearing for plantation development – the rainforests of Borneo are disappearing fast. Endangered species, such as the orangutan, are at grave risk. International Animal Rescue helps orphaned and injured orangutans

2020 saw fires in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands more than double year on year from 2019 and roughly 80 per cent of Encontros das Águas State Park was burnt. The park is known for its large jaguar population and Ernane was there documenting the fires when this jaguar and his brother crossed the Rio Três Irmãos (Three Brothers River) nearby. Once he reached the opposite bank, the jaguar turned in the ash that had been left by days of desolation, leaving just his face and black body.

You need to be very energetic in order to take care of an orangutan youngster. Maxime spent over one hour with this mother, Pinus Jantho Nature Reserve, Sumatra, Indonesia. Maxime tried to help her calm the baby. More than 120 Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program apes have been released into this reserve. Marconi was once a captive animal, but she was returned to good health, and was released back into the wild in 2011. Her 2017 sighting with Masen, a wild-born baby, was an act of hope for the future.

Jo-Anne McArthur flew from Australia to record the stories of the animals that had been affected by devastating bushfires in Victoria and New South Wales. She was able to access burn areas, rescues, and veterinary missions while working alongside Animals Australia. The lucky ones were this eastern grey kangaroo, and her joey, pictured in Mallacoota (Victoria).

Karl went to the Cairngorms in Scotland with his friend. He took Karl to a forest that red squirrels frequent. Karl placed hazelnuts in opposite directions on two branches and then set his tripod so that the camera was facing the direction where a squirrel would jump. He set his camera to auto focus and hid behind the tree with a remote control. In less than an hour two squirrels had appeared.

Wim noticed a female giant anteater foraging on a vast open area in Brazil’s Pantanal late at night when she suddenly realized that there was a baby girl. Wim instinctively reached for his camera, and he slowly crept towards a termite mound which was located in her direction. He sat still and watched as she made her way to him.

Jaime observed as Federico Mosquera (a Colombian biologist) soothed a river dolphin in the Amazon. These dolphins are extremely tactile animals and direct contact calms them – keeping them hydrated when out of the water is also extremely important. The team from Omacha and WWF were transporting the dolphin to a temporary veterinarian facility in Puerto Nariño, Colombia, to install a GPS tag in its dorsal fin. It is part of larger scientific efforts to study river dolphin health as well as migratory patterns.