Sailing by Matthew Smith (United Kingdom) Finalist: Invertebrates
Sailing by Matthew Smith (United Kingdom), Finalist: Invertebrates

From the stunning winning photograph by American Michael Nichols, of lions resting with their cubs in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, to the amusing image of a Japanese macaque examining a smartphone snatched from a tourist, by Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten, visitors to the Royal BC Museum will be charmed by the Wildlife Photographer of the year exhibit.

Green Dragon, by Will Jenkins (United Kingdom), Finalist: 11-14 Years
Green Dragon, by Will Jenkins (United Kingdom), Finalist: 11-14 Years

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014, the exhibition features 100 winning images, in huge, backlit displays, selected from a field of 42,000 international entries. The annual competition, organized by the Natural History Museum and co- owned with BBC Worldwide, receives entries from all over the world, form professionals, gifted amateurs and young photographers alike.

Paurague Study by Jess Findlay (Canada), Finalist: Birds
Paurague Study by Jess Findlay (Canada), Finalist: Birds

British Columbia photographer, Jess Findlay, is one of two Canadian photographers featured. An avid bird watcher and naturalist from Vancouver, Findlay was a finalist in in the Earth’s Diversity, Birds Category for his image, “Pauraque Study,” a close-up and detailed photograph of the common pauraque, a type of nightjar, taken at Estero Llamo Grande State Park in southern Texas.

The 2014 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition closes April 6, 2015.