Gary Meredith/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Two common brushtail possums peek out of their hiding place under the roof of a shower block in a holiday park in Yallingup, western Australia.
Jaime Culebras/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A wandering spider eats the egg of a giant glass frog in Ecuador.
Dhiritiman Mukherjee/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A large, critically endangered male gharial carries his offspring in India. The animal is at least four meters long.
Alessandra Meniconzi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Mountain birds photographed high in the Swiss Alps.
Hannah Vijayan/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A brown bear catches a salmon in Alaska's Katmai National Park.
Garth Lenz/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Tar sands in Alberta, Canada.
Jose Fragoso/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A hippopotamus emerges from the mud to take a breath in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Laurent Ballesta/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Darkness falls on Fakarava Atoll, in French Polynesia, as molluscs begin to move and a grey reef shark glides past.
Makoto Ando/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A red squirrel runs away from a pair of Ural owls, which prey on small mammals, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Matthew Maran/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A young fox holds onto a dead brown rat her brother is trying to steal from her.
Quentin Martinez/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A market trader in Indonesia slices up fruit bats at his stall, which also stocks pythons and 'bush' rats.
Thomas P. Peschak/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Dead albatrosses that drowned after getting hooked by longlines set by fishing boats off South Africa.
Andrea Pozzi/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Araucaria trees in the Araucanía region of Chile.
CNN  — 

Possums, primates and disappearing habitats all feature among the first images to be released from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020 awards.

Organizers on Tuesday published several of the 68 highly commended images selected by judges to form of an exhibition, which opens October 16 at the Natural History Museum in London.

The awards show off the best nature photography and photojournalism, with images from both amateur and professional photographers, according to a press release.

Arshdeep Singh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
This image of a critically-endangered primate was shot by a 13-year-old.

One photograph of a critically-endangered primate called a douc was shot by Arshdeep Singh, 13.

Another, by Charlie Hamilton James, shows a single tree against the backdrop of a raging forest fire, shining a light on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Award winners, chosen from nearly 50,000 entries, will be announced on October 13, and an awards ceremony will be conducted virtually from the Natural History Museum.

Charlie Hamilton James/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A lone tree stands against a forest fire in Maranhão, Brazil.

The winners will contribute another 32 images to the exhibition, taking the total on display to 100.

“All the commended images are effectively winners, being among the top 100 awarded by the jury out of more than 49,000,” Roz Kidman Cox, chair of the judging panel, said in a statement.

Entrants hail from 25 different countries, and there are stand out images from young photographers, added Cox.

Evie Easterbrook/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A pair of Atlantic puffins in vibrant breeding plumage pause near their nestburrowon the Farne Islands.

Tim Littlewood, executive director of science at the Natural History Museum and member of the judging panel, said the competition is known for attracting the best photographers and naturalists in the world.

“But there has never been a more vital time for audiences all over the world to re-engage with the natural world, and what better way than this inspiring and provocative exhibition,” said Littlewood.

Alongside the exhibition at the Natural History Museum, the images will go on a UK and world tour, according to the press release.