This year's winner was Angela Bohlke with a snap of a fox diving after vole in Yellowstone Park – and missing. "On the third try, he finally succeeded," the photographer said. “To me, winning is just a chance to share the beauty of our protected lands with more people. I plan to donate any personal profit from sales of the image back to Yellowstone National Park where this image was taken.”

Austin Thomas photographed this acrobatic little owl landing in Lancashire, England. Working alongside international wildlife charity The Born Free Foundation, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards says there is a serious message behind the laughs, as it aims is to raise awareness of the importance of conservation and environmental protection.

Vaughan Jessnitz says he watched this a cheetah walk down a main road in a nature reserve in Hoedspruit, South Africa. The cat promptly sat down when it spotted the speeding sign. According to Born Free, the cheetahs are under threat from habitat loss and hunting for their skins.

Nicholas De Vaulx won the In the Air category with this image of a pelican looking distraught as it drops a fish above Kerkini Lake in Greece. Judge Paul Joynson-Hicks said the entries this year surpassed all expectations. "There are some phenomenal and dedicated photographers out there, most of whom are not full-time professional photographers, but who deliver equally impressive results."

Tom Stables took this portrait of a "lucky" buffalo in Meru National Park Kenya. African buffalo populations are declining. One of the challenges to conservation is that they can come into conflict with farmers by raiding crops.

We've all seen images of Alaskan grizzlies feasting on salmon, but Rob Kroenert captured the moment the fish won. Grizzly bears are only found on 2 percent of their former range but Katmai National Park, where this photo was taken, has a thriving population over 2,000 animals.

15-year-old Thomas Bullivant from London won in the junior category, with a photograph of zebras in South Luanga National Park in Zambia. He described the photogenic equines as "pro models in the wild wanting their photos to be taken."

Anup Deodhar took this photo of a male fan-throated lizard in Maharashtra state, India. These colorful reptiles put on an agressive display to attract females, and can sometimes be seen speeding across the scorching sand on two legs.

Philip Marazzi was highly commended for this cute image of a polar bear cub giving the camera a wave while his mum takes a snooze. It looks an idyllic scene but global warming means the Arctic sea ice where polar bears hunt is vanishing at an alarming rate. Should climatic trends continue, two thirds of the world's polar bears could be lost by 2050, according to Born Free.

Indonesia's formidable Komodo dragon can grow up to 3 meters in length. And it's not big on hygiene. The lizard's saliva contains such noxious bacteria that even if its prey survives an initial attack, the animal usually dies from infection days later. Caroline Tout was brave enough to get this picture - and kept out of biting distance.

"Animals can make you laugh without even knowing why," judge and wildlife photographer Tom Sullam said. "It is the anthropomorphic behavior." Like this squirrel captured holding a flower - or perhaps conducting an orchestra? - by Perdita Prestzl in Austria.