The first Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017 images have been revealed.

Playful seals, nuzzling bears and a valiant-looking bald eagle are featured in phenomenal images from the finalists of Wildlife Photographer of the Year's fifty-third competition.

The world-renowned exhibition opens on 20 October at the Natural History Museum in London.

Swim gym by Laurent Ballesta, France

Finalist 2017, Behaviour: Mammals

‘We were still a few metres from the surface, when I heard the strange noises,’ says Laurent.

Suspecting Weddell seals – known for their repertoire of at least 34 different underwater call types – he approached slowly. It was early spring in east Antarctica, and a mother was introducing her pup to the icy water.

The world’s most southerly breeding mammal, a Weddell seal gives birth on the ice and takes her pup swimming after a week or two.

The pair, unbothered by Laurent’s presence, slid effortlessly between the sheets of the frozen labyrinth. Adults are accomplished divers, reaching depths of more than 600 metres (1,970 feet) and submerging for up to 82 minutes.

‘They looked so at ease, where I felt so inappropriate,’ says Laurent.

Relying on light through the ice above, he captured the curious gaze of the pup, the arc of its body mirroring that of its watchful mother.

Nikon D4S + 17–35mm f2.8 lens; 1/640 sec at f11; ISO 200; Seacam housing.