The winners of the British Wildlife Photographer Awards. (PHOTOS: Ross Hoddinott/ Ryan Stalker/British Wildlife Photography Awards)

Choosing winning images out of a sea of fabulous photos can’t be easy – especially when there are 14 000 submissions to choose from, each taken by photographers who all believe their pic is the best.

This was the task of judges for this year’s British Wildlife Photographer Awards – a panel spoilt for choice when it came to deciding which pictures best captured the challenges and beauty of the natural world.

But the job had to be done. Here’s a selection of the remarkable images that inched ahead of the competition.