The results of the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year were announced yesterday and a number of phenomenal images made the shortlist of 100 photographs. The annual competition now in its 49th year is led by two UK institutions, the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide, who collectively received 43,000 photos from 96 countries this year. The photos will begin an international tour in the UK starting in November and you can find exhibition times and dates here.

The first two images shown above, Essence of elephants by Greg du Toit of South Africa and Mother by Udayan Rao Pawar of India are the two grand title winners. The rest of the photos are a mix of both winners and runner-up selections, and you can read much more about each photograph over at Wildlife Photographer of the Year. (via My Modern Met)

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