Wildlife Photographer 2015 Winners

London's Natural History Museum has announced the winners of its annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. This year, 42,000 entries from 96 countries participated in the competition. First place went to Canadian amateur photographer Don Gutowski with a sinister piece called "Two Foxes" about survival in the tundra. Here are the photos that won in 10 nominations.

1. Don Gutowski (Canada), "The Story of Two Foxes". Winner in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Mammals categories.

Gutowski witnessed this uncharacteristic fox behavior in Wapusk National Park on the coast of Hudson Bay in early winter. Red foxes do not usually prey on arctic foxes, but conflicts can arise between the two species of predators when crossing their habitats. Lighting was inadequate, but the snow-covered tundra provided the right backdrop for the ominous scene. The red fox stopped with a smaller fox in its mouth.

2. Ondrej Pelanek (Czech Republic), "Feathers for show". Winner in the Young Wildlife Photographer 11-14 category.

Turukhtan males at their usual tundra breeding grounds on Norway's Varanger peninsula. Birds show each other mating plumage, declaring their rights to the territory for mating.

3. Jonathan Jagot (France), Flight of the Red Ibis. Winner in the Young Wildlife Photographer 15-17 category.

Scarlet wings against the background of sand and tropical blue sky. Jago took this picture while sailing in a boat past the island of Lencois off the northeast coast of Brazil.

4. Amir Ben-Dov (Israel), "Three". Winner in the category "Birds".

Falcons are social animals, they migrate in large flocks from central and eastern Europe to southern and southwestern Africa. This unique moment of interaction between the three birds was revealed to the photographer on the sixth day of observing them: the female took off and nudged the male with her claws to make room on the branch for another female. The relationship that connects these three birds has remained a mystery.

5. Edwin Gisbers (Netherlands), Still Life. Winner in the category "Amphibians and Reptiles".

A large crested newt froze motionless at the surface of the stream.

6. Michael AU (Australia), Mouthful of Fish. Winner in the "Underwater World" category.

Bride's minke dives into the swirl of sardines and takes a mouthful of fish in one gulp.

7. Pere Soler (Spain), "Algae Painting". Winner in the "From the air" category.

Soler captured the spring phenomenon, which can only be fully seen from the air, in the Bay of Cadiz nature reserve off the coast of Andalusia. When the temperature rises, the salt content in the water changes. Highly wet lands in the intertidal zone change their color due to the mixing of bright green algae with colorful accumulations of microscopic algae. Accumulations of white salt, brown and orange deposits, colored by sulfur bacteria and iron oxide, also contribute to the color.

8. Richard Peters (Great Britain), "Traveler in the Dark". Winner in the Urban Life category.

Flickering eyes or movement in the shadows - this is how a fox living in a city is usually shown to people. This picture tells about life in the twilight.

9. Juan Tapia (Spain), "Life comes to art." Winner in the "Impressions" category.

Tapia made a hole in the oil painting through which a swallow could fly, and blocked the window in the old barn with canvas. In the photo, a swallow rushes in, leaving behind a bright patch of sky.

10. Britta Jaszczynski (Germany/UK), Broken Cats. Winner in the Wildlife Photojournalist: One-Shot Reporting category.

Big cats at a circus in Guilin, China. The lions and tigers have had their fangs and claws removed, and outside the arena they live in tiny cages that are visible offstage. For the past 20 years, Britta has traveled extensively and documented the lives of animals in captivity. Nowhere, she said, has she experienced "such brutality and systematic isolation" as in China.