March Been there competition: wild

Ann Moyle: We had been out since dawn on the last morning of a week's holiday in the Masai Mara. The cheetah is mother to six cubs and we had been watching them for a couple of hours when she suddenly appeared alone on the skyline and I took the picture. I used a Canon 400D camera with a Sigma 150-500mm lens. Photograph: Ann Moyle

Arnaud Chevalier: I spotted this monkey busily cleaning its teeth in a very relaxed positions at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam. Photograph: Arnaud Chevalier

Catherine Connolly: This was taken almost five years ago, when I was 17, in the Antelope Park reserve in Zimbabwe while on a lion walk with lions who would go on to be released back into the wild. Photograph: Catherine Connolly

Tim Evans: Wildebeest and zebras crossing the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Photograph: Tim Evans

Daniel Allen: This was taken close to the Siberian town of Listvyanka, beside Lake Baikal. The edge of the lake is freezing over - by January the entire surface becomes solid. The shutter speed was fairly high (1/200s) to capture the wave as it broke over the icy lip. The light was still good so I kept the ISO down and aperture fairly high (f/9). I think this captures the remote beauty and frigidity of the lake. Photograph: Daniel Allen

James Ng: I took this photo of a cayman hiding in the reeds while being guided in a kayak around the Tortuguero National Park, on the northern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Photograph: James Ng

James Smith: This photo was taken at Monkey Temple in Bali. For me it sums up the mystery of the surrounding area, which has long lost its human inhabitants and been taken over by monkeys. The main challenge was waiting for the monkey to stay still. I used a Nikon D40X with the aperture at F8 and the on-camera flash to fill in the darker areas. Photograph: James Smith

Jim Hope: We arrived at at the Bundala National Park in Sri Lanka at 5.45am and had driven for no more than two minutes when I spotted the peacock. I asked the driver to stop and all I had to do was wait until the bird turned its head to be silouetted against the moon. I was using my Canon 60D and a borrowed 70-200mm IS USM II lens, which was perfect. The image stabiliser works a treat. Photograph: Jim Hope

Luisa Correia:A motionless poison dart frog. I like this picture because of the balanced contrast between the bright sharpness of the frog, and the blurred ambiguous background. It was taken with a Leica D-Lux 5, exposure 1/50 second at f/2.6. Photograph: Luisa Correia

Marc Perves: A simple picture of wilderness, of a bird chilling on a branch by one of the crystal-clear lakes of the JiuZhaiGou Natural Heritage Park in Sichuan, China. Photograph: Marc Perves

Matt Hudson: The was taken while I was volunteering for marine conservation group Blue Ventures in Madagascar. I was surveying the coral reef when I can across this little crab (about 3cm across) hiding in an anenome. I used a Canon G7 with underwater housing with manual white balance and high ISO selections to counteract the reduction in red light while diving. Photograph: Matt Hudson

Matthew Wood: The picture was taken on Negros Island in the Philippines. The lizard used to bask in the sun outside our hut: it got quite defensive when we had to walk past it, which is when I took the photo. Photograph: Matthew Wood

Miranda Lowe: I took this photo of elephants crossing the road while on safari in Tanzania. Photograph: Miranda Lowe

Ben Walker: This was taken in the southern Serengeti last December. We weren't expecting to see the wildebeest migration, but within the space of an hour the whole horizon became a sea of wildebeest and zebra. This was taken using a Samsung WB650 compact camera - nothing special. Photograph: Action images

Paul Kirkham: I was wandering through my Mum's herb garden and saw the grasshopper nestled among the green leaves of a bunch of Echinacea flowers trying its best to stay undiscovered. I like a challenge and the grasshopper blended perfectly with the leaves but somehow remained distinct. I used a Canon 350D with a zoom lens 55-200mm. Photograph: Paul Kirkham

Sam Rogers: I took this while on honeymoon in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa. He had apparently been eating a buffalo for three days and was resting up. The position of our truck allowed me to manoeuvre into position for a head-on shot. With a bit of zoom you get the impression of being right up close and the eyes drawing you in. Photograph: Sam Rogers

Tim Jones: This shot is of a white-tip reef shark with an uncontrollable urge to scratch its belly. This is quite unusual behaviour as they are not very active in the daytime and have cleaner fish to eat any parasites. It was taken on a borrowed Sony Cybershot DSC-P100 (1/250sec at f5.6 - ISO 320) while I was taking a PADI Divemaster course at Sipidan, off the coast of Borneo. Photograph: Tim Jones

Chris Mole: I was attracted to the scene as it was so unusual to see two peacocks sitting on a roof. This was on the main road through our village, Danehill in Sussex. I have no idea where they came from and have seen no sightings since.
Natalie Mayer, judge: Lovely simple composition, and a perfect exposure for a silhouette.
Photograph: Chris Mole

Julia Derrick: I was walking along the beach at Ebey's Landing on Whidbey Island, Washington, US, when I noticed two antennae sticking out from a pile of stones. On closer inspection, I found they were attached to this insect.
Natalie Mayer, judge: I like the simple colours and striking composition of this one. A startling little creature, very well photographed. It gave me a chuckle! Photograph: Julia Derrick

Levison Wood: We were driving in the late afternoon having seen little wildlife except gazelle and then, over the crest of the horizon, was a huge herd of Zebra that didn't seem to mind us watching theml. We edged nearer until we were only 20 metres away and I caught this shot of a pair of young playfuls with my trusty Nikon D300 and a 70-200mm lens.
Natalie Mayer, judge: Beautiful colours, great focus achieved, and a fantastic moment captured. Well done! Photograph: Levison Wood

WINNING IMAGE
Emma Tullet: I captured this shot at 80kmph on the back of a quad bike in the outback of Australia while I was working on Kalala cattle station. It was taken with my old Canon SLR and 18-55mm kit lens, so it took quite a few attempts. It was a scary place to be, I was only a few feet away as they were charging at me. I wanted to get this shot to challenge me; and having a fear of horses, it did just that.
Natalie Mayer, judge: I think this is a really beautiful image, well realised in black and white. It would have benefitted from just a little subtle vignette around the edges to draw the focus in even more, but still, the image has lovely life and atmosphere and is a well-captured moment in time. Photograph: Emma Tullet