People's Choice Award finalists stun in Wildlife Photographer of the Year global photo competition
Stunning images from the natural world have wowed the public in the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
The 25 images competition's People's Choice Award received a record number of more than 75,000 votes.
British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani was named the winner for his picture "Ice Bed", depicting a young polar bear drifting off to sleep on a small iceberg.
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Ice Bed: A polar bear carves out a bed from a small iceberg before drifting off to sleep in the far north, off Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Nima Sarikhani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The photo was snapped from an expedition vessel during a voyage around Norway's Svalbard archipelago.
"I am so honoured to have won this year's People's Choice award for WPY, the most prestigious wildlife photography competition," Sarikhani said.
"This photograph has stirred strong emotions in many of those who have seen it.
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Starling Murmuration: A mesmerising mass of starlings swirl into the shape of a giant bird on their way to communal roosts above the city of Rome, Italy. Daniel Dencescu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
"The Happy Turtle": A Balkan pond turtle shares a moment of peaceful coexistence with a northern banded groundling dragonfly in Israel's Jezreel Valley. Tzahi Finkelstein/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
"Whilst climate change is the biggest challenge we face, I hope that this photograph also inspires hope; there is still time to fix the mess we have caused."
Alongside the winner, four entries - out of more than 50,000 overall - were named "highly commended".
Drawn from across the globe, these included "The Happy Turtle" by Tzahi Finkelstein, a fascinating interaction between a Balkan pond turtle and a northern banded groundling dragonfly, and "Starling Murmuration" by Daniel Dencescu, which frames the moment a starling murmuration - a flock returning en masse to their winter roost after feeding - formed the shape of a bird.
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Shared Parenting: A pair of lionesses devotedly groom one of the pride's five cubs in Kenya's Maasai Mara. Mark Boyd/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Aurora Jellies: Moon jellyfish swarm in the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø in northern Norway illuminated by the aurora borealis. Audun Rikardsen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two lionesses groom one of the pride's five cubs in Kenya's Maasai Mara in Mark Boyd's "Shared Parenting", and Audun Rikardsen's stunning shot "Aurora Jellies" shows two moon jellyfish illuminated by the aurora borealis in a fjord in Norway.
The five images will be displayed both online and in the accompanying exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, until June 30 this year.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
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