Attracting more than 450 entries from around the world, the winners are selected by a panel of expert judges including ZSL honorary conservation fellow and television presenter Kate Humble, and renowned ornithologist Bill Oddie. Here: Anoura Geoffroy’s tailless bat by Nicolas Reusens. The Perfect Moment category; Adult runner up. (Photo by Nicolas Reusens/ZSL Animal Photography Prize 2015)

Hisakata Hiroyuki, a talented photographer from Japan, has managed to snap a group of mortal tomcats in a variety of high-flying kung fu poses. Using his own rapid-fire reactions, he photographs the lovable cats flying through the air, their legs and paws outstretched, like something out of an action movie. (Photo by Hisakata Hiroyuki/Caters News Agency)

The annual calendar features stunning shots of lighting, cloud formations and the aurora australis. Hundreds of photographers from every Australian state and territory submitted images to the Bureau of Meteorology for selection in the year’s calendar, with only the best chosen to represent the full spectrum of Australian weather. Here: April. A path through the clouds between Townsville and Richmond, Queensland. (Photo by Captain Victoria Harrison/Australian Bureau of Meteorology)

These spectacular images of the universe are the finalists in the 2016 CWAS “David Malin” awards. The annual competition, which celebrates the best astronomy images taken by Australian photographers, is part of AstroFest 2016. The winners will be announced on 16 July. An associated exhibition opens the following day at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory visitors centre, and a second exhibition will also travel to selected venues around Australia. Here: Mars and its Rival Antares and the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. (Photo by Phil Hart/CWAS/The Guardian)

A view of a Van Gogh-inspired hot air balloon being inflated during the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga province, north of Manila February 12, 2015. According to the organizer, a total of 32 hot air balloons are part of the four-day event. (Photo by Erik De Castro/Reuters)

Migrants react after boarding the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) ship MV Phoenix some 20 miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Libya, August 3, 2015. Some 118 migrants were rescued from a rubber dinghy off Libya on Monday morning. The Phoenix, manned by personnel from international non-governmental organisations Medecins san Frontiere (MSF) and MOAS, is the first privately funded vessel to operate in the Mediterranean. (Photo by Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters)

Gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas performs gymnastic moves near damaged buildings in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria March 26, 2016. As Syrian gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas watched his country fall apart, his Olympic dream collapsed too. The last national champion before the fighting began, he knew that supporting the anti-government side in the five-year-old civil war would prevent him from being selected for the Rio Games. (Photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters)

104-year-old John Faulkner of Appleford, Berkshire enjoys a pipe and a glass of beer as he remembers his considerable past. A former jockey, he has been married twice and fathered 32 children. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 17th March 1932