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Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023: Check out some of the competition's best images

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ibex-in-the-French-Alps.Image source, Luca Melcarne
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It's official - the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is now over for another year and the winners have been chosen.

Image source, Fernando Constantino Martínez Belmar
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This year’s contest, which is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, saw an impressive 49,957 entries from 95 different countries.

Image source, Laurent Ballesta
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It was French underwater photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta who was awarded the title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023. His image features a tri-spine horseshoe crab and a young trio of golden trevally fish. It’s the second time Laurent has won the competition. He was also awarded the winning title in 2021.

Image source, Vihaan Talya Vikas
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The winner of the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 10 Years and Under Category was Vihaan Talya Vikas from India. Their image called "The wall of wonder", shows an ornamental tree trunk spider preventing its prey from escaping.

Image source, Ekaterina Bee
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The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 winner of the 11-14 category was Ekaterina Bee from Italy. Her photo is called "Out of the blue", and features a pair of bottlenose dolphins.

Image source, Amit Eshel
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There were also lots of other incredible photos which impressed the judges. Amit Eshel’s image captures a dramatic cliffside clash between two Nubian ibex in the Zin Desert in Israel.

Image source, Agorastos Papatsanis
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This image reveals the magic of a fungus releasing its spores in the forest. Parasol mushrooms release spores from the gills under their cap. Billions of these tiny spores travel – usually unseen – in the air currents. Some will land where there is moisture and food, enabling them to grow networks under the forest floor.

Image source, Bertie Gregory
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This group of orcas were snapped in Antarctica. They belong to a group that specialises in hunting seals by charging towards the ice, creating a wave that washes the seal into the water.

Image source, Hadrien Lalagüe
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These birds, known as grey-winged trumpeters, were captured watching a boa slither past. The birds spend most of their time foraging on the forest floor, eating ripe fruits, insects and the occasional small snake. That boa constrictor, creeping through the leaves, is more than three metres long, and would have been way too big for them to take on!

Image source, Mike Korostelev
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This image shows a hippopotamus and her two children resting in the shallow clear-water lake. The photographer spent just 20 seconds under water with them which was enough time to get the photo from a safe distance while avoiding alarming the mother.