At first glance, these two lions seem to be suffering through a British summer. But, in fact, they are out on the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania. This rain-swept photograph has been commended by judges of this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest.
C-Boy (on the left) and Hildur are unrelated males that have worked together for several years. In 2009, a gang of four males, dubbed "the Killers", drove them away from the pride of females they controlled. C-Boy and Hildur eventually moved east and took over two new prides.
Most of our information about lions comes from studies of the Serengeti population, because the open plains make it easier to track their movements. But most lions live in forests and woodlands, and don't behave much like their Serengeti counterparts. In particular, Serengeti males can claim exclusive mating rights to the females of a pride, but elsewhere the females mate freely with multiple males.
Read more: "Zoologger: The changing face of the lion"
Photographer Alejandro Prieto was looking out for bull sharks on a beach in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, when out of the sea came this crocodile wrestling a green turtle. The judges also commended this photograph.
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