Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 finalists announced

Thirteen images from the competition have been released

One of the incredible finalists (Laurent Ballesta/2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

From a squirrel on a cold February morning to a caged Sumatran tiger, the first batch of images from this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 are stunning.

Over 50,000 photographs from 92 countries were entered into the esteemed competition, just 100 making the final exhibition which returns to the Natural History Museum on 20 October.

From those selected, a jury of international experts will then choose the winning images based on their creativity, originality and technical excellence. These will be selected before the opening, on the 17 October.

Thirteen of the finalists have been released online — featuring an incredible image of a bald eagle, two seals swimming under an ice sheet, and an arctic fox carrying an egg.

Last year, the overall winner was Tim Laman, who won the prestigious award for ‘Entwined Lives’, a vertical photograph — taken with a GoPro — of an orangutan climbing a tree.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 exhibition opens on 20 October at the Natural History Museum.