[imagesource: Lara Jackson]

Another day of working from in the pyjamas, staring at a screen.

Forgive us if we like to feature the odd photography competition, as a form of escapism.

Last week, it was the winners of Australian Geographic nature photographer of the year.

This week, we go global with the ‘highly commended winners’ from 2021’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, spanning categories such as animal portraits, behaviour, and underwater.

The overall winner, chosen from more than 50 000 entries across 95 countries, will only be announced on October 12, but there’s plenty to enjoy prior to that.

Mashable has a list of the highly commended winners, with Lara Jackson’s entry featuring a blood-soaked lion in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park up top.

Here are five more of our favourites.

“Storm fox” by Jonny Armstrong, U.S. Highly commended, Animal Portraits

“The fox was busy searching in the shallows for salmon carcasses — sockeye salmon that had died after spawning. At the water’s edge, Jonny was lying on his chest, aiming for a low, wide angle. The vixen was one of only two red foxes resident on the tiny island in Karluk Lake, on Alaska’s Kodiak Island, and she was surprisingly bold,” reads the competition statement.

“The gripping end” by Wei Fu, Thailand. Highly commended, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles

“Clutched in the coils of a golden tree snake, a red-spotted tokay gecko stays clamped onto its attacker’s head in a last attempt at defence. Named for their to‑kay call, tokay geckos are large — up to 40 centimetres (16 inches) long — feisty and have powerful jaws. But they are also a favourite prey of the golden tree snake,” reads the statement.

“Deep feelers” by Laurent Ballesta, France. Highly commended, Underwater

“In deep water off the French Mediterranean coast, among cold-water black coral, Laurent came across a surreal sight — a vibrant community of thousands of narwhal shrimps. Their legs weren’t touching, but their exceptionally long, highly mobile outer antennae were. It appeared that each shrimp was in touch with its neighbours and that, potentially, signals were being sent across a far‑reaching network,” reads the statement.

“The great swim” by Buddhilini de Soyza, Sri Lanka/Australia. Highly commended, Behaviour (Mammals)

“When the Tano Bora coalition of male cheetahs leapt into the raging Talek River in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, Dilini feared they would not make it. Unseasonable, relentless rain (possibly linked to the changing climate) had, by January 2020, caused the worst flooding local elders had ever known. Cheetahs are strong (if not keen) swimmers, and with the prospect of more prey on the other side of the river, they were determined. Dilini followed them for hours from the opposite bank as they searched for a crossing point,” reads the statement.

A coalition of cheetahs is a fantastic collective noun.

It’s up there with an armoury of aardvarks, a quiver of cobras, and a flamboyance of flamingos.

“Lynx on the threshold” by Sergio Marijuán, Spain. Highly commended, Urban Wildlife

“A young Iberian lynx pauses in the doorway of the abandoned hayloft where it was raised, on a farm in eastern Sierra Morena, Spain. He will soon be leaving his mother’s territory. Once widespread on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, by 2002 there were fewer than 100 lynx in Spain and none in Portugal. Their decline was driven by hunting, killing by farmers, habitat loss and loss of prey (they eat mainly rabbits),” reads the statement.

The Iberian lynx resembles our own caracal, or rooikat, here in South Africa.

Around Cape Town, the Urban Caracal Project helps us understand these cats and their movements.

Yesterday, the project shared this video of a caracal in Hout Bay:

In case you needed another reason not to speed on our roads at night, here it is.

You can see the full list of 2021’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition here.

[source:mashable]