From post-coital lions to sleeping seals, marvel at some of this year's best wildlife photography

A leaping stoat, a ball of bees and a David Bowie spider are some of the best images submitted to this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

Now in its sixtieth year, the competition attracted a record-breaking 59,228 entries from photographers of all ages spanning 117 countries and territories.

“In this selection, you see species diversity, a range of behaviour and conservation issues,” says chair of the judging panel, Kathy Moran.

“These images represent the evolution of the competition through the years, from pure natural history to photography that fully embraces representation of the natural world - the beauty and the challenges. It is a powerful selection with which to kickstart a milestone anniversary.”

The winners from each category and Grand Title and Young Grand Title awards will be announced at a ceremony on 8 October hosted by wildlife TV presenters and conservationists Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin.

The upcoming Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will showcase 100 photographs from around the world starting 11 October 2024 in London. To mark the sixtieth anniversary, the museum’s flagship exhibition will feature a timeline of key moments in the competition’s history.

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the Highly Commended competition entries for this year - including the first-ever awarded image taken on a smartphone.

This ball of male Dawson’s burrowing bees is vying for access to a female. When females emerge in the spring, they are surrounded by males competing to mate with them. After mating, the female bee digs a new burrow filled with pollen and eggs from which newly hatched bees will emerge in the spring.

Australian photographer Georgina Steytler has been studying these bees for