[Faline]

Thrashing around in the water clutching a large fish between his teeth, this striking image of a brown bear catching its lunch stunningly captures both the beauty and ferocious power of the natural world.
The sockeye salmon tries to put up a fight but is no match for the bear with a splash of the fish's blood standing out from the water as the giant sinks its teeth in.
Italian photographer Valter Bernardeschi's beautiful shot taken in the waters of Lake Kuril Kamchactka in Russia is one of 100 pictures set to go on display as part of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013 award at the Natural History Museum in London.



Taken by American Douglas Seifert, this image shows a dugong mingling with snorkelers in a shallow Egyptian bay where he feeds upon seagrass



Alejandro Prieto from Mexico has called this shot of a predatory crocodile preying on a green turtle in Costa Rica



An exhibition of the finalists from this year's prestigious competition is to go on display next month, with judges releasing just a handful of the magnificent images that were entered this year as a sneak preview.
Now in its 49th year, the competition, ran by the museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine has this year attracted a staggering 43,000 entries from both amateur and professional photographers from 96 countries around the world.


Etienne Francey noticed this tiny mouse snacking in the fields near his village in Switzerland



This stunning shot of lions getting a soaking in the rain at the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, was taken by American Michael Nichols

[Jere]

the bear pic is awesome

[kellyhound]

wildlife photographer is one of the best jobs out there

[Sharon]

No prizes for guessing my fave pic and I've had the amazing honour of holding one

Great post, love images like these