Akangaroo stands with a joey peeking out of its pouch in the middle of a bushfire ravaged forest in Mallacoota, Victoria. Two lions nuzzle each other in the rain in Kenya, while willow trees coated in snow are reflected on the surface of a frozen Italian lake. The images are among some of the top wildlife photos of the year and have been selected from more than 50,000 submissions from around the world.

Italian photographer Cristiano Vendramin’s photograph of the icy, winter lake has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award 2021, with more than 31,800 people voting for his image online. The work, along with four other highly commended pieces, will be displayed in London’s Natural History Museum.

Whilst visiting Santa Croce Lake in northern Italy in 2019, Mr Vendramin noticed the willow trees and how they reflected off the frozen lake.

Mr Vendramin said he hoped his image would encourage people to look around and appreciate the beauty of nature.

“We can be pleasantly surprised by the many landscapes so close to home. I believe having a daily relationship with nature is increasingly more necessary to have a serene and healthy life,” he said. “Nature photography is therefore important to remind us of this bond, which we must preserve, and in whose memory, we can take refuge.”

Director of the Natural History Museum Douglas Gurr said Mr Vendramin’s image reflected the role nature played in providing “solace and a space to reflect on the past and even spark hope for the future.”

“These past two years have redefined what truly matters in life, the people and the environments that play a crucial role in our own personal ecosystems,” he said.

The four highly commended finalists were selected from about 50,000 images from 95 countries. Their images will hang alongside Mr Vendramin’s in the London exhibit.

The photographs include Shelter from the rain by Ashleigh McCord which depicts two male lions nuzzling each other in the rain which was captured in Maasai Mara, in Kenya; Canadian photographer Jo-Anne McArthur’s image of a kangaroo and her joey standing in the aftermath of the Victorian bushfires in 2019; and Jeroen Hoekendijk’s image of a bear sleeping in a tree under the watchful gaze of an eagle.

The fourth highly commended work is that of Chinese photographer Qiang Guo, who captured two male golden pheasants that were continuously swapping places on a tree trunk. The birds are native to China, where they inhabit dense forests in mountainous regions.