The 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest has opened and the entries are flooding in. Photographers have until November 17, according to the BBC, but we're already seeing some pretty stiff competition.

Immerse yourself in stunning shots submitted by photographers vying to become our Nature Photographer of the Year. https://t.co/UYbPZP5UEE pic.twitter.com/3L2Sx7KfZT — Nat Geo Adventure (@ngadventure) September 26, 2017

We live in an incredible world, full of grand vistas, clever animals, and a gorgeous, ever-shifting sky. There's also a lot of people with really high quality cameras out there!

Check out some the submissions so far and fantasize about what part of this amazing earth you want to see next:

The @NatGeo 'Nature Photographer of the Year' submissions are amazing. Some of them: pic.twitter.com/AymWNdtnVB — Marcus Higgins (@MarcusAHiggins) September 27, 2017

See our favorite images from talented photographers vying to become our 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year. https://t.co/SJd9lovAXE pic.twitter.com/FWaLNMDAkW — Nat Geo Adventure (@ngadventure) September 18, 2017

Mother Nature’s Camo. Photo and caption by Cole Frechou / National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest pic.twitter.com/ducqkGfpjV — John Evans (@Distinctboxes) September 22, 2017

From National Geographic's 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year contest. pic.twitter.com/j4jx6rZOiI — Frank Bath (@FrankBath) September 25, 2017

Spot the 🐧🐧🐧? 📷 by Andrew Peacock, Ross Sea, Antarctica. The 2017 @ausgeo Nature Photographer of the Year on now at the AM. @SAMuseum pic.twitter.com/EKJEl42bqv — Australian Museum (@austmus) September 24, 2017

This stuff looks pretty hard to top, but we're looking forward to seeing more attempts. Now to book a plane ticket to adventure...

2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest - via @TheAtlPhoto https://t.co/KOtdScCw2k pic.twitter.com/pLqEa6TUGS — The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) September 26, 2017

Photojournalist Brent Stirton won the grand title with an image of a shot and dehorned black rhino.

The image, Memorial to a species, was taken in South Africa's Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. It emerged as the winning shot from almost 50,000 competition entries from 92 countries.

Sir Michael Dixon, Natural History Museum Director, says "Brent's image highlights the urgent need for humanity to protect our planet and the species we share it with."

"The black rhino offers a sombre and challenging counterpart to the story of Hope, our blue whale."

"Like the critically endangered black rhinoceros, blue whales were once hunted to the brink of extinction, but humanity acted on a global scale to protect them. This shocking picture of an animal butchered for its horns is a call to action for us all."