Rare images from Wildlife Photography

1. Rare images from Wildlife Photography

2. Life in the wild isn’t as easy going though, as this python in Sabi Sands, South Africa, found out when a leopard pulled it out of a tree and ate it…by Villiers Steyn/Caters

3. Life in the wild really is red in tooth and tusk.. as this buffalo discovered when it unwisely butted an elephant. The killer elephant, in Masai Mara, Kenya, impaled the unfortunate beast on its tusks, lifting the 500kg buffalo high into the air, before dropping its lifeless body again.Picture: Kim Murer/Caters

4. Just hanging out in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, famed for its tree climbing lions. by Mary Lynn Campbell

5. A dramatic standoff between a jackal and a vulture who brazenly attempted to steal his snack, a wildebeest bone. The jackal thought he had lunch sorted when, out of nowhere, a vulture descended from the sky and attempted to snatch the bone from him. The vulture tried its best to intimidate the jackal with its towering wings, but ultimately failed as the jackal clung onto the bone. by Ingo Gerlach Photography  Website

6. Acrobatic Elephants of Mana Pools in Zimbabwe, Botswanaby Ken Watkins Photography

7. A leopard cub plays with its mom’s tail at Londolozi Private Game Reserve in South Africa. by Sergey Gorshkov Photography

8. Elephant calf standing tall in Kariega Game Reserve in South Africa by specialist photography  guide Jacques Matthysen.

9. Three Headed Giraffe, Kenya by Tony Murtagh

10. Homer Eagle Take Off… Homer Alaskaby Buck Shreck/Bucks Wildlife Photography

11. Happy Dancing Giraffesby Matt West Photography

12. Lion cub waltz danceby Wim Van Den Heever

13. A Steller’s sea eagle steals a golden eagle’s prey in Kamchatka, RussiaPicture: Igor Shpilenok / Barcroft Media

14. A family of Japanese macaques huddle together for warmth in the mountains of Jigokudani, Nagano, JapanPicture: Ade Photography/Solent News & Photo Agency

15. Monkey Synchronised Jump by wildlife photographer Marina Cano.

16. Laughing LionsBig Cats always look so funny when you catch a pic of them mid-yawn.by Joe Martinic Photography

17. Photographer Adhi Prayoga took this photo of a dragonfly being attacked by 2 ants on a stem of grass in Rembiga, Mataram, Indonesia. Eventually, but not without a struggle, the dragonfly managed to escape unscathed.

18. Higgins the Rescue Staffiejumping for snowballsby Andy Rouse

19. Giraffe Love at Copenhagen Zooby Peter Hausner Hansen Photography

20. “The Tail End” A Playful young Leopard cub attacking his moms tail, these are the special moments we hope for while on Safari.by Andrew Schoeman Photography

21. Tender moment between Malaika the female Hitch-hiking Cheetah and her cub. Masai Mara National Reserve , Kenyaby Sanjeev Bhor

22. Red Fox catching mouse under snow. With his exceptional hearing a red fox has targeted a mouse hidden under 2 feet of crusted snow. by Michael Eastman

23. The very rare sight of a pride of lions successfully bringing down an elephant in broad daylight. Only a handful of lion prides in Africa are know to have taught themselves to actively hunt elephants. About 12 lions including cubs were present. They waited calmly in the shade while this lion in this picture attacked.by Ed Hetherington Photography

24. American photographer Randy Rimland captured a male lion cub seeming to smile for the camera at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. There is a surprising similarity to the wide grin of Carry On actor Sid James. Picture: Newsteam/PA

25. Lioness & Cub, Den Move by Rahul Matthan

26. This is the moment an unlucky bird was plucked from mid-air by a sparrowhawk. The scene was caught on camera by photographer Margitta Schuff Thomann at the Isola Della Cona nature reserve in Italy.

27. A tiny mouse makes a bid for freedom as a hungry owl swoops down behind it. Photographer Roman Lobanov captured the huge owl swooping down behind the tiny mouse before pouncing on the unlucky rodent and flying off with its prey, in Rybinsk, Russia.

28. Photographer Scott Cromwell captured the split-second moment when a chameleon went in for the kill. Mr Cromwell watched as Geoffrey, a 17-month-old chameleon released his tongue towards a mantis and hit it straight on.

29. University student Morgan Trimble photographed this shoebill trying to eat her camera tripod after being released into the wild. The bird had been hand-reared in captivity by conservationists since it was rescued from poachers as a chick.Picture: MorganTrimble/BNPS

30. Two polar bear cubs play tug of war with bowhead whale skin at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in North Slope, Alaska. Picture: Steven Kazlowski / Barcroft Media

31. Ant Tower !!In a bid to make an escape from a bird cage, a 10-strong army of ants link up to turn themselves into a ladder. The insects climbed on top of each other to form a tower to try and reach the top of the cage. Indonesian photographer Fahmi Bhs captured the antics near his home in Jakarta.

32. Traffic comes to a standstill as two lions decide to roll around in the middle of a road on the edge of the Nairobi National Park in Kenya. Commuters were forced to watch the ten-minute display, before the lions left the road. Picture: Gareth Jones

33. These protective lionesses refuse to take it LION down when a male approaches their cubs, and all hell breaks loose among the pride in the Mara Triangle, within the heart of the Masai Mara in Kenya, Africa.

34. “I’m ready for my close-up” — Bantu, a lion cub born in Columbia, checks out the interest. Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

35. Time For A Nap!!!Photographer : Pat Ulrich

36. Love At First Sight!!!!Photographer : Dino Odoardo Giberton

37. Kingfisher Triumphant Splash!Photo : Danny Green / Rex Features

38. Polar Bear Playfightby Alexey Tishchenko

39. A jackal and a vulture fight for food in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve in the Drakensberg region of South Africa. Wildlife photographer Mitchell Krog captured the fighting as the creatures scrapped over scattered bones…

40. …Mitchell Krog also captured a group of black-backed jackals that arrived on top of the mountain in the late afternoon to come and steal the meaty bones that were placed out for the vultures.

41. An African fishing eagle catches a fish in Lake Baringo, KenyaPicture: CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images

42. Feeding Giraffe, Masai Mara, Kenyaby Rainer Tewes

43. Bears are increasingly coming out of the forest in search of food. This one made for a remote train station, believed to be Tarbinskaya in Krasnoyarsk region. The creature lunged at the station window, protected by metal bars.

44. “Thirsty Cubs”The Nkuhuma Pride of Lions in the Manyaleti Game Reserve Quenching Thirst Aftaer Feasting on a Zebra Kill by Andrew Schoeman Photography

45. Balancing Act !!Wildlife photographer Brian Matthews’s photo of a fearsome Komodo dragon seeming to balance on two feet

46. Smiley Face !!The brightly decorated peacock spider – much like his feathered namesake – uses color to show off to the female of the species. Its markings appear to form a face including eyes, nose, a mouth and even ginger hair which is unique to this species, called Maratus speciosus. The tiny spiders are only about four to five millimetres in length.Picture: JURGEN OTTO / CATERS NEWS

47. Two brown bears appear to be gossiping as they play in the snow at the Hagenbeck zoo in Hamburg, northern GermanyPicture: SVEN HOPPE/AFP/Getty Images

48. Surf’s up !!Dolphins surf along a wave during day three of the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour event in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. by Nic Bothma

49. It’s shark week somewhere !! A great white shark breaches while hunting its favorite food, the Cape fur seal. by Daren Fentiman / Zuma Press

50. Ugandan Elephant with a dancing bird on its back..by Jonothan Hen-Boisen