Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Public voting opens in contest of stunning nature pictures

Photograph: Neil Anderson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The public have been invited to have their say in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice award.

The Natural History Museum has launched the contest, which will see voters choose their favourite from a shortlist containing 25 of the most stunning wildlife pictures taken by top nature photographers from around the globe.

This year’s shortlist includes pictures of endangered Iberian lynx kittens making an abandoned hayloft their playground, a close-up  portrait of a distinctive deep-sea fish, a group of burrowing owls living in harmony with their human neighbours in suburban Florida and the final moments of the last surviving male northern white rhino.

Joseph Wachira comforts Sudan, the last male northern white rhino left on the planet, moments before he passed away at Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya (Ami Vitale/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A Japanese warbonnet photographed in the Gulf of Oprichnik in the Sea of Japan (Andrey Shpatak/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Voting is now under way and will continue until 2 February 2021. The winning picture from the People's Choice Award will be featured in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum alongside the winners of the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Now in its 56th year, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year is known for drawing incredible images from the top talent in nature photography.

Dr Tim Littlewood, executive director of Science at the Natural History Museum and member of the judging panel, said: "The People’s Choice Award provides the public with an opportunity to select images and stories from the natural world that move and intrigue them. 

“This year’s shortlist includes a wide diversity of wildlife photography from a fragile planet. Whether assessing human-animal relationships, highlighting the plight of captive species or animals thriving in their environments, the public are in for a difficult decision!”

Wildlife carer Julie Malherbe looks after three recently orphaned grey-headed flying-fox pups in her home whilst at work (Douglas Gimesy/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Dog meets moose on the Antelope Flats of Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park (Guillermo Esteves/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Great egrets in the wetlands of the Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong (Joseph Dominic Anthony/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Burrowing owls live side-by-side with humans on Marco Island in Florida’s Ten Thousand Barrier Islands (Karine Aigner/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A mountain hare grooms itself in wintery conditions in Scotland’s Cairngorms (Andy Parkinson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A barnacle goose flees as a polar bear lurks over its nest in Svalbard, Norway (Petri Pietilainen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

European beavers at their favourite feeding place in Grimma, Germany (Oliver Richter/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Endangered green sea turtles in Little Farmer’s Cay in the Bahamas (Thomas P Peschak/National Geographic/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Two Iberian lynx kittens, Quijote and Queen, play in the abandoned hayloft where they were born in Sierra Morena, Spain (Sergio Marijuan Campuzano/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Votes for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award can be cast on the Natural History Museum website.