Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 highly commended images

The Guardian has a selection of images from the highly commended section of this award, as with the winning selection we featured last week these are quite stunning. More can be seen on the Guardian site here

Behaviour: Birds – Taking Flight, Paul Goldstein Paul arrived very early on the shores of Lake Nakuru, Kenya, before the rising sun had burned off the mist. He had returned to photograph the greater and lesser flamingos and used shade, shadow and silhouette to create drama, rather than emphasising their vivid colours with sunlight. He was helped by a combination of circumstances: rain during the night, a rapidly clearing sky, enough time for the cold air to form mist over the alkaline waters, and a hyena hunting for young or infirm birds along the far shore of the soda lake. The predator set up a wave of panic, with those closest to it taking flight and those nearest to Paul standing alert. Ten minutes later, not only had the whole flock lifted up, but the mist had also burned off, completely changing the scene. Photograph: Paul Goldstein/WPY

Behaviour: Mammals – The Charge by Eric Pierre (France) Eric had been tracking Arctic wolves on Victoria Island, Canada, when his guide spotted a herd of muskoxen 3 miles (5km) away. Approaching, Eric could see that the herd was nervous, probably because wolves were also on its trail. He made a detour and stopped about half a mile away upwind. Suddenly, he realised that the herd was now running towards them, oblivious of them. “I’ve seen muskoxen run away,” says Eric. “I’ve seen them react to a threat by forming a circle, and I’ve even seen a male charge. But I’ve never seen a herd spread out into a charging line like this. I could hear the thundering of their hooves. It was one of those situations where it really mattered that I made the right choice between technical accuracy, aesthetics and security.” Photograph: Eric Pierre/WPY

The exhibition information:

Exhibition and tickets

2011 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition
21 October 2011 – 11 March 2012

Open 10.00 – 17.50 daily

Book tickets now

This world-renowned yearly exhibition at the Natural History Museum provides a spotlight on the rarely seen wonders of the natural world.

From 21 October, enter an atmospheric space inside the exhibition gallery and be inspired by this year’s competition winners. The images are selected from 1000s of international entries and are beautifully displayed in sleek backlit installations