The snap of Malui, a western lowland gorilla in the Central African Republic, scooped the top prize in Nature Conservancyโs contest.
Elsewhere a snapper caught the moment wildebeests were bucking and kicking as they jostled in a frenzied crossing of the Mara River in Tanzania.
In another snap a fish found itself on the menu after a predator latched onto its tail while hunting for lunch.
The competition also featured a swimmer retrieving a facemask from the water in a mass of floating litter to highlight the scourge of plastic in the oceans.