Stunning images of the wild world go on display

Christian Ziegler endured months of hot, sweaty, mosquito-ridden conditions to get the picture, but the results are extraordinary.

His photograph of a bat circling inside its fallen tree trunk roost on the island of Barro Colorado, Panama, is to go on display next month at the Natural History Museum in west London as part of the 44th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

He was shortlisted from more than than 32,000 entries from 82 countries for the £10,000 prize. The exhibition, which opens on 31 October, will include the winning, runner-up and commended photographs in 17 categories.

Among the entries is a photograph by Baris Koca from Ankara, Turkey, depicting the remarkable shapes created by huge flocks of starlings coming in to roost at Lake Mohan. Another photographer, Nuno Sa, swam with a pod of eight killer whales. Sa said: "As soon as I dropped in the water, one of the males spun round and came straight at me. We looked each other in the eye."

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