The public are being urged to vote for their favourite nature image for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year people’s choice award.

A mudskipper fish defending its territory from a crab, a fox taking advantage of a full London bin and a confrontation between Emperor and Adelie penguins are among the 25 “astounding” images selected for a public vote.

A mudskipper defending its territory from a crab (Ofer Levy, Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)
A mudskipper defending its territory from a crab (Ofer Levy, Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

Other images up for the vote are a courting mountain hares touching noses in Scotland’s Monadhliath Mountains, jellyfish illuminated by the aurora borealis, a polar bear asleep on an iceberg, Celebes crested macaque drinking from a plastic bottle and a starling murmuration that looks like a giant bird.

They have been chosen by the Natural History Museum and a judging panel from nearly 50,000 entries from 95 countries submitted to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.

A fox checking out a full London street bin (Matt Maran, Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)
A fox checking out a full London street bin (Matt Maran, Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

Dr Douglas Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said: “Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s people’s choice award always offers an astounding selection of images, and this year is no different.

“We invite the public to join the jury and vote for their favourite; whether breath-taking beauty or a powerful story, it’s sure to be a difficult decision.”

An Adelie penguin approaches an emperor penguin and its chick
An Adelie penguin approaches an emperor penguin and its chick during feeding time in Antarctica’s Atka Bay (Stefan Christmann/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

The public can vote for their favourite image online or at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, until voting closes on January 31 2024.

The winning choice and four top images will be announced in February 2024 and displayed online, joining the winners of the 59th annual international competition.

Two courting mountain hares in the Monadhliath Mountains in Scotland
Two courting mountain hares in the Monadhliath Mountains in Scotland (Andy Parkinson/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

The people’s choice award images are also being showcased at the exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

The overall competition was won by Laurent Ballesta for the second time with an image of a tri-spine horseshoe crab gliding along the bottom of the sea.

A Moon jellyfish swarm in the waters of a fjord outside Tromso
A Moon jellyfish swarm in the waters of a fjord outside Tromso in northern Norway illuminated by the aurora borealis (Audun Rikardsen/Wildlife Photographer of the Year/PA)

:: People can see and vote for their favourite images online at:  www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/peoples-choice