Amazing Photos from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award Shortlist

As the drought in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park stretched on, the waterholes dwindled to pools. Flocks of Lilian’s lovebirds congregated together and when the coast was clear they descended to this pool. They shuffled forward, taking it in turns to drink and bathe, as if on a conveyor belt.

[Yahoo! News}- Majestic birds and colourful sea creatures are only some of the breathtaking animals to make the shortlist for the People’s Choice award in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year annual competition.

This year, almost 50,000 submissions from 92 countries were entered for the prestigious award.

The shortlisted images are currently on display at the highly-acclaimed exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, until the vote closes on 5 February 2018.

The winner of the vote will then be showcased until the exhibition closes on 28 May 2018.

The ‘People’s Choice’ annual award recognises exceptional competition entries as chosen by the public.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the longest-running competition of its kind.

The competition is a vital part of the Natural History Museum’s mission to inspire a love for the natural world and unlock answers to the big issues facing humanity and the planet.

As the drought in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park stretched on, the waterholes dwindled to pools. Flocks of Lilian’s lovebirds congregated together and when the coast was clear they descended to this pool. They shuffled forward, taking it in turns to drink and bathe, as if on a conveyor belt.

Lakshitha was on safari in Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, when he spotted an unusual sight – a lilac-breasted roller riding a zebra. Normally they prefer to perch high up in the foliage, but this roller spent an hour or more riding around and enjoying the occasional insect meal. Lakshitha waited for the surrounding zebras to form the perfect background before taking this tight crop.

The Arctic is beautiful all year-round, but in the late winter, when temperatures reach -30 ̊C (-22 ̊F) and everything is white and the sun stays low on the horizon, it’s stunning. Josh was on a boat in a fjord across from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, and encountered this polar bear walking along the edge of the ice. She was curious, walking past the boat twice – just long enough for Josh to take a shot with her white coat glowing in the setting sun. After satisfying her curiosity, she silently walked off into the distance.

When polar bear mothers and cubs emerge from their dens in the early spring, the cubs stay close to their mothers for warmth and protection. Once the cubs are strong and confident enough, they make the trek to the sea ice with their mother so that she can resume hunting for seals. Debra waited six days near the den of this family, in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada, before they finally emerged. In the most challenging conditions she has ever faced, temperatures ranged from – 35 ̊C (-31 ̊F) to -55 ̊C (-67 ̊F) with high winds, making it almost impossible to avoid frostbite and keep her camera gear functioning properly. (Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Jan spotted this small southern whitefaced owl in a tree at a campsite in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. These owls have black-tipped ‘ear’ tufts and usually lay their eggs in the old nests of other birds. Jan was able to frame a shot of this striking bird looking down at him as it didn’t seem bothered by the comings and goings of the campsite.

Luciano had to climb the cecropia tree, in the protected Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil, to take an eye-level shot of this three-toed sloth. Sloths like to feed on the leaves of these trees, and so they are often seen high up in the canopy.