We don’t know how the above leopard seal attack on a gentoo penguin ended, but we do know that Eduardo del Alamo’s photo has been selected as a finalist in the ‘Behaviour: Mammals’ category of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

The competition, in its 55th year, has announced the first cut of highly-commended images that have made it into the final stretch of the London Natural History Museum’s flagship photography exhibit.

Eventually, 100 images will be chosen from the close to 50 000 entrants, which have come from more than 100 countries, but let’s crack on with 10 before we get carried away.

That one above, and these nine below, via Forbes:

Last gasp: Behaviour, Mammals category. A days-old hippo was with his mother in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe, when a large bull first chased her, then seized the calf in his huge gape and killed it. as the distraught mother looked on – ADRIAN HIRSCHI, SWITZERLAND

Lucky break: Urban Wildlife category. An ever-adaptable raccoon pokes her bandit-masked face out of a 1970s Ford Pinto on a deserted farm in Saskatchewan, Canada – ASON BANTLE, CANADA

Cool drink: Behaviour Birds Category. On a bitterly cold morning on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, a flock of long-tailed tits and marsh tits were gathered around a long icicle hanging from a branch, taking turns nibbling the tip – DIANA REBMAN, USA

The climbing dead: Plants and Fungi category. On a night in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, this bizarre-looking weevil was clinging to a fern stem. Its glazed eyes showed it was dead and the three antennae-like projections growing out of its thorax were the ripe fruiting bodies of a ‘zombie fungus.’ –  FRANK DESCHANDOL

Touching trust: Wildlife Photojournalism category. A curious young grey whale approaches a pair of hands reaching down from a tourist boat. In San Ignacio Lagoon, on the coast of Mexico’s Baja California, baby grey whales and their mothers actively seek contact with people for a head scratch or back rub – THOMAS P PESCHAK, GERMANY/SOUTH AFRICA

Sleeping like a Weddell: Black and White category. Hugging its flippers tightly to its body, the Weddell seal closed its eyes and appeared to fall into a deep sleep. Lying on “fast ice” (ice attached to land) off Larsen Harbour, South Georgia, it was relatively safe from its predators – killer whales and leopard seals – and so could completely relax and digest – RALF SCHNEIDER

Jelly baby: Underwater category. A juvenile jackfish peers from inside a small jellyfish off Tahiti in French Polynesia. With nowhere to hide in the open ocean, it has adopted the jelly as an overnight travelling shelter, slipping under the umbrella and possibly immune to the stinging tentacles, which deter potential predators – FABIEN MICHENET, FRANCE

Big cat and dog spat: Behaviour Mammals Category. In a rare encounter, a lone male cheetah is set upon by a pack of African wild dogs – both species have disappeared from much of their former ranges, with fewer than 7,000 left of each, mainly due to habitat loss and fragmentation – in Zimanga Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – PETER HAYGARTH, UK

Superb timing.

The final shot…

Beach waste: Wildlife Photojournalism category. From a distance, the beach scene at Alabama’s Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge looked appealing: blue sky, soft sand and a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. But as the photographer and the patrol team got closer, they could see the fatal noose around the turtle’s neck attached to the washed-up beach chair – PHOTO: MATTHEW WARE, USA

How can you not love nature, and want to do better to protect it?

You can find out all of the detail about the competition here.

[source:forbes]