Travel Photo of the Year: The Wildlife category finalists

"A female bee-eater looks on enviously as her mate tosses a bee in his beak, ready to swallow head first (sting last)."

- Patrick O’Brien, Chartered Surveyor

"I am sure the turtles loved making the fish ball split – I just hung over the fish ball and had fun watching the turtles swim past."

- Gail Johnson, Retired

"Travelling across the dunes in a 4X4, we came across a small group of the rare Arabian oryx travelling to a watering hole."

- John Leigh, Retired

"This bighorn sheep popped his head up out of a snowdrift in front of me where it had happily found a few strands of grass to eat."

- Patrick O’Brien, Chartered Surveyor

"Sitting in our jeep as a female cheetah calmly nursed her twin cubs in the shade behind us is a moment that will stay with me forever!"

- Michelle Attard, Travel Blogger

"We had the privilege of witnessing this pair of lions emerge through a misty sunrise and lush vegetation, during an early morning game drive."

- Mandy Haakenson, Freelance Content Marketer

"A three-toed sloth munching through leaves of a cecropia tree above our hotel’s reception in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. The sloth was so high, and my camera gear so heavy, that I lay on the ground to take photos."

- Jackie Freshfield, Marketing Manager

"I’d been photographing a family of swans on a local lake but I knew I needed that rare and short lived summer sunrise mist to give the image some impact. I spent many weeks of 4.30am alarm calls to be there at sunrise to maximise my chances, and on this occasion I got the result I wanted."

- Paul Thwaites, Retired Production Engineer

"Bob is famous in Curaçao, as he helps spread the word about conservation. Every week he gets an early morning swimming treat where he free swims and preens afterwards."

- Gail Johnson, Retired

"This mother bear took her cubs to rest on a small sandy promontory on Lake Kurile in Kamchatcha, while she kept a lookout for any passing salmon to catch."

- Tina Bulley, Retired