Posted for Laura Starr

The winner of the UK’s Natural History Museum and the BBC’s Wildlife magazine’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 will be announced next month. Here are The Great Beyond’s favourite highly commended images, which were announced today:

Bat house

This image was captured in Barro Colorado in Panama by Christian Ziegler, from Germany, and is highly commended in the Animals in their Environment category. We see a big-eared bat circling its roost, waiting until dusk so it can start hunting for a meal.

(more below the fold…)

Love branch

This photograph of a nest-building osprey soaring mid-flight taken by Andy Rouse, from the UK, is a particular favourite.

Mouse pounce

This stunning photograph of a vixen, hunting food for its offspring, was taken by Patrick Centurioni from Austria. The sheer contrast of the dark, gloomy background with the grass sets off the predator’s isolation briliantly.

Treetop jigsaw

This image was highly commended in the ten years and under category, and was taken by Brittany Fried, a US citizen living in Hong Kong. It shows the rainforest canopy as a roof covering the entire forest. Brittany says she was reminded of a giant puzzle, and you can see why.