Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 entriesPublished31 August 2023Image source, Alex Mustard/Wildlife Photographer of the YearImage caption, One of the world's biggest and best photography competitions is back. Here are just some of the amazing pictures that have received highly commended awards in this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year. This image is called Coral connections and was taken by Alex Mustard, from the UK. It has been awarded Highly Commended in the Under Water category.Image source, Solvin Zankl/Wildlife Photographer of the YearImage caption, This year the competition received nearly 50,000 entries from 95 countries, with photographers judged on their creativity, originality and technical skill. This image was captured by Solvin Zankl, from Germany, and shows a mason bee at work. It's been Highly Commended in the Animal Behaviour category.Image source, Shashwat Harish/Wildlife Photographer of the YearImage caption, The aim of the competition is to showcase some more unusual animal behaviours and habitats while also exposing the human impact on our natural world. This stunning picture of a leopard was taken by Shashwat Harish, from Kenya, and has been Highly Commended in the 11-14 Years category.Image source, Atsuyuki Ohshima/Wildlife Photographer of the YearImage caption, This photo called Forest rodeo, shows a macaque riding around on a deer on the Japanese island of Yakushima. It was taken by Atsuyuki Ohshima, from Japan, and has been Highly Commended in the Behaviour: Mammals category.Image source, Zhai Zeyu/Wildlife Photographer of the YearImage caption, Watch out below! This picture of a coot skating on ice was captured by Zhai Zeyu, from China, and has been Highly Commended in the 10 Years and Under category.Image source, Max Waugh/Wildlife Photographer of the YearImage caption, The winners of the competition, including the Grand Title winner, will be announced on 10 October. This amazing picture of a bison charging through snow was captured by Max Waugh, from the USA, and has been Highly Commended in the Animal Portraits category.Image source, Caitlin Henderson/WildlifePhotographeroftheYearImage caption, An exhibition of the 100 top award-winning images will go on display at the Natural History Museum from 13 October until June 30 next year. Caitlin Henderson was able to snap this picture of a possum munching on insects in the middle of the night outside her balcony window in Queensland, Australia. She has been Highly Commended in the Urban Wildlife category.