Source: BBC

A mother’s hand

Alain Mafart Renodier, France

Image copyrightALAIN MAFART RENODIER / WPOTY 2016

Alain Mafart Renodier was on a winter visit to Japan’s Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park when he took this photograph of a sleeping baby Japanese macaque, its mother’s hand covering its head protectively.

Opportunistic croc

Bence Mate, Hungary

Image copyrightBENCE MATE / WPOTY 2016

Although this shot was taken from a safe hide, Bence Mate says it was chilling to see the killing eyes of this 4m (13ft) Nile crocodile. This one had been baited with natural carcasses on an island in the Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa, but crocodiles also come here just to bask in the Sun.

The stare of death

Johan Kloppers, South Africa

Image copyrightJOHAN KLOPPERS / WPOTY 2016

Johan Kloppers saw this little wildebeest shortly after it was born in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. Little did he know that he would witness its death later that same day. The small herd of wildebeest walked right past a pride of lions, and the calf was caught by a lioness and then taken by this male lion.

Monkey ball

Thomas Kokta, Germany

Image copyrightTHOMAS KOKTA / WPOTY 2016

Cold temperatures on Shodoshima Island, Japan, sometimes lead to monkey balls, where a group of five or more snow monkeys huddle together to keep warm. Thomas Kokta climbed a tree to get this image.

Facing the storm

Gunther Riehle, Germany

Image copyrightGUNTHER RIEHLE / WPOTY 2016

Gunther Riehle arrived at the sea-ice in Antarctica in sunshine, but by the evening a storm had picked up – and then came snow. He concentrated on taking images of the emperor penguin chicks huddled together to shield themselves.

Ghostly snow geese

Gordon Illg, US

Image copyrightGORDON ILLG / WPOTY 2016

These snow geese almost seemed like ghosts in the pink early morning light as they landed among sandhill cranes in the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, US.

Sisters

Bernd Wasiolka, Germany

Image copyrightBERND WASIOLKA / WPOTY 2016

Bernd Wasiolka encountered a large lion pride at a waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. One of the two males spray-marked the branches of a nearby tree. Later two females sniffed the markings and for a brief moment both adopted the same posture.

Into the fray

Stephen Belcher, New Zealand

Image copyrightSTEPHEN BELCHER / WPOTY 2016

Stephen Belcher spent a week photographing golden snub-nosed monkeys in a valley in the Zhouzhi Nature Reserve in the Qinling Mountains, China. The monkeys have very thick fur, which they need to withstand the freezing nights in winter. This image shows two males about to fight, one already up on a rock, the other bounding in with a young male.

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