An Iberian Lynx, one of the world's rarest wild cats, pauses to look at our group while it crosses a path in southern Spain (Image by Mike Watson)

A late Whooper Swan heads for its roosting site at sunset (image by Mark Beaman)

Hippopotamus heads (image by Mark Beaman)

Bar-bellied Pitta in Vietnam (Image by Pete Morris)

The endangered Wahlia Ibex, endemic to Ethiopia's Simien Mountains (image by Mark Beaman)

Atlantic Puffins in the snow at Hornøya island, northern Norway (Image by Audun Lie Dahl)

A herd of Siberian Ibex run up a mountainside in Ladakh (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of Bariti, a beautiful Arbore girl (Image by Inger Vandyke)

When a Giant Otter crunches down a fish one can hear the noise from 50 metres! Pantanal, Brazil (Image by Mike Watson)

Black-browed Albatrosses nesting at West Point Island, the Falkland Islands (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Snow Monkeys often huddle together for warmth in the cold winter of the Japanese Alps (image by Mark Beaman)

Whooper Swans at dusk at Lake Kussharo (image by Mark Beaman)

A dancing Red-crowned Crane hurls itself high into the air (image by Mark Beaman)

Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, female walking on an ice-floe north of Svalbard. Our expedition ship MS Origo is seen in the background (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Blakiston's Fish Owl, the largest owl in the world, with its fish dinner, Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Pete Morris)

Ladakh is the place to see and photography the shy, fabled Snow Leopard (Image by Mike Watson)

A Northern Fulmar is lost against the awesome backdrop of Spitsbergen (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Walrus in the snow, Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Dardic Brokpa women of Ladakh in traditional dress (Image by Inger Vandyke)

The evocative cry of the African Fish Eagle is one of the charismatic sounds of Africa (image by Mark Beaman)

A young Blackbuck peers at a Black Drongo that has landed on its back, Velavadar, Gujarat (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Whooper Swan comes in to land (image by Mark Beaman)

Portrait of a Red-crowned Crane, Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Tiny biting flies torment a Painted Wolf (or African Wild Dog) until it leaps up to catch some (image by Mark Beaman)

Svalbard's small icebergs can offer interesting photographic opportunities, especially in autumn light (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

An Arctic Fox in its dark summer pelage peeks out at a photographer in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Chinstrap Penguin surveys the dramatic Antarctic world around it (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Chinstrap Penguin has a scratch (Image by Inger Vandyke)

The dead Camelthorn trees of Deadvlei, Namibia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Aba Mezgebe, the father of the church at Asheten Maryam near Lalibela, reveals one of his church's ancient bibles (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Whooper Swans in the mist (image by Mark Beaman)

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) on an ice flow off northern Spitsbergen in Svalbard, as the sun sets on the horizon (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Some frisky Walruses in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Tiger wanders down to a waterhole in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Little Auk in flight on our Spitsbergen trip (Image by Mike Watson)

Collared Laughingthrushes in southern Vietnam (Image by Pete Morris)

"How can I escape my ordained fate as a low-caste flea-groomer?" (image by Mark Beaman)

A Polar Bear rests on the ice after a meal, watched by an Ivory Gull (Image by Mike Watson)

Himba Head Man in remote Kaokoland, Namibia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Everything is fine in Galapagos until one of those damn Espanola Mockingbirds climbs on your back! (Image by Mark Beaman)

Portrait of a Ladakhi woman wearing a traditional Perak (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Red-crowned Cranes leaving their atmospheric roost at Otawa in Hokkaido (image by Mark Beaman)

View from the crater rim of Erta Ale, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, into the active, red-glowing lava lake. Erta Ale is a continuously active basaltic shield volcano in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia, only some kilometers from the border with Eritrea

Portrait of a Panther Chameleon in Madagascar (Image by Dani Velasco)

I am the monarch of all I survey! A Gelada family at sunset (image by Mark Beaman)

A Jaguar rests by the riverside in the Pantanal, unafraid of our presence (Image by Mike Watson)

Babuku, a young Suri boy with his face painted in the more modern Suri way, surrounded by the copper bracelets worn by traditional Suri women of his tribe (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Lalibela priest reads his bible by the light shining through a crucifix shaped 'window' in a rock church (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of a 'Snow Monkey', Honshu, Japan (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A young Suri woman shows off her beautiful body markings. (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Portrait of a European Shag in northern Norway (Image by Espen Lie Dahl)

A Gemsbok oryx takes off into the grasslands of Sossusvlei, Namibia. This image was taken on an aerial safari by helicopter from Sesriem (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Leopard Seal, one of Antarctica's most iconic predators (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Portrait of a stunning, smiling Arbore girl (Image by Inger Vandyke)

It is not just the wildlife that is unusual in Simien. Giant Lobelias near Chenek (Image by Inger Vandyke)

An Ethiopian Wolf pounces on its prey (image by Mark Beaman)

A male Walrus at sunset in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Brown Skua with his prized Gentoo Penguin egg (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Driving across Lake Assale, Danakil, Ethiopia

A priest holding his crucifix at Lalibela in Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

This is the real Suri. Portrait of an elegant young Suri girl with her traditional green head covering and long copper bracelets (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Japanese Macaques (Snow Monkeys) engaged in mutual grooming in Honshu, Japan (Image by Pete Morris)

Gelada Baboon males are magnificent creatures and you can, with care, approach them very closely in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Light conditions as winter fades into early spring are perfect for bird photography in northern Norway, as this King Eider image demonstrates (Image by Roy Mangernes)

The priests of Lalibela (Image by Inger Vandyke)

The beautiful Himba people of Kaokoland in Namibia (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Two birds are dwarfed by the watery immensity of the Victoria Falls (image by Mark Beaman)

A backlit Snow Monkey near sunset (image by Mark Beaman)

Chukar Patridge, Ladakh, India (Image by Mike Watson)

A traditional Suri woman and her baby in the Omo Valley. She is carrying the horn of a large Waterbuck on her head (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Beautiful dancing Red-crowned (or Japanese) Cranes in the snows of Hokkaido (Image by Pete Morris)

A Steller's Sea Eagle 'brakes' at the last moment as it dives for food (image by Mark Beaman)

Large-billed Crow study (image by Mark Beaman)

Night is coming, we must head for the cliffs! Gelada motion blur, all but one... (image by Mark Beaman)

A pretty Suri girl and her baby near Kibish in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Steller's Sea Eagle with fish (image by Mark Beaman)

A Steller's Sea Eagle surveys its wintry domain from an upflung block of sea ice (image by Mark Beaman)

Eagle dawn (image by Mark Beaman)

Steller's sunrise (image by Mark Beaman)

A Lioness shakes off the water after a river crossing (image by Mark Beaman)

A striking Hamer woman in the market at Turmi. (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A herd of oryx runs across the grasslands of Sossusvlei, Namibia at sunset (Image by Inger Vandyke)

The scenery of the Antarctic Peninsula is truly awesome (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Svalbard Polar Bear comes really close! (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

It's Baloo! A Sloth Bear in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Wahlia Ibex (image by Mark Beaman)

Black-legged Kittiwakes adorn an almost incredibly blue, upturned iceberg in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A White-naped Crane bugles as it crosses the dawn moon at Arasaki, Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

Ladakhi women wearing their traditional costume of Perak was a highlight of our 2017 Ladakh Women's Project (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Namibia features many different colours of sand dunes including the spectacular garnet sand dunes of Dorrob National Park near Swakopmund (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Polar Bears, understandably, prefer to keep their feet dry (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A Little Cormorant watches the sunset at Tadoba, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Black-browed Albatross with motion blur in the Southern Ocean (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

An Ibisbill in flight over the Indus River in Ladakh (Image by Mike Watson)

Hooded and White-naped Cranes in the snow at Arasaki , Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

Adelie Penguins are surely the cutest of the smaller species (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Some Pantanal Jaguars specialize in killing Caimans (Image by Mike Watson)

Frigatebird at dawn in Baja California (Image by Mark Beaman)

Baja California sunsets are legendary (Image by Mark Beaman)

A line of Indian Wild Asses at sunset in the Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat (Image by Mike Watson)

Antarctica has a fearsome majesty (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

"How wonderful it is to be born a high-caste Snow Monkey and be able to visit the hot bath!" (image by Mark Beaman)

Leopard portrait (image by Mark Beaman)

Photographing a Northern Carmine Bee-eater riding on an Arabian Bustard's back is a 'Holy Grail' of African bird photography... (image by Mark Beaman)

The low light in spring and autumn makes for atmospheric Polar Bear shots in Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Burchell's Zebras are constantly bickering. Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tanzania (Image by Mark Beaman)

Eurasian Hoopoe in flight in Hungary (Image by János Oláh)

Painted Stork in flight in India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Misty Whooper Swan (image by Mark Beaman)

Lilac-breasted Roller flight portrait (image by Mark Beaman)

Steller's Sea Eagles in the dawn light of Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A male Lion from the Marsh Pride drags the almost-consumed carcass of a young elephant at Savuti, Botswana (image by Mark Beaman)

Sly portrait of a Red Fox in Japan (Image by Pete Morris)

Red-crowned Cranes in Hokkaido, in the style of a Japanese painting (image by Mark Beaman)

Common Guillemots (or Common Murres) with sunrise reflection bokeh at Hornøya, northern Norway (Image by Audun Lie Dahl)

These Gentoo Penguins make for a pleasing pattern as they head for the sea (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

A male Sika Deer amidst Hokkaido's spectacular landscape (image by Mark Beaman)

Walrus male portrait from Svalbard (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Siamese Fireback male at Cat Tien, Vietnam (Image by Pete Morris)

The striking appearance of a Mursi woman with her lip plate and decorations of warthog tusks in the Mago National Park (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Steller's Sea Eagle forces a White-tailed Eagle to drop a piece of fish by grabbing hold of its leg and talons! (image by Mark Beaman)

Here comes breakfast! Great White Pelicans at Lake Awassa (image by Mark Beaman)

An adult White-naped Crane comes in to land at Arasaki, Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

The secretive Agami Heron loves quiet Pantanal backwaters (Image by Mike Watson)

As the first sunlight catches the hoar-frost-covered trees at Otawa, the steam rising from the river adds to the other-worldly scene of roosting Red-crowned Cranes, Hokkaido, Japan (Image by Mark Beaman)

Red-crowned Cranes flighting to roost (image by Mark Beaman)

Portrait of a Red Fox (image by Mark Beaman)

Geladas at sunset. There is still a chance to groom or play... (image by Mark Beaman)

Thick-billed Raven portrait (image by Mark Beaman)

Mating Indian Skimmers on the Chambal River in Uttar Pradesh, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

It is hard to tell if Nazca Boobies in Galapagos are being affectionate or squabbling... (Image by Mark Beaman)

Displaying Red-crowned (or Japanese) Cranes in winter in Hokkaido. Cranes mate for life (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A Great White Pelican steals a march on its rivals at Awassa Fish Market (image by Mark Beaman)

A beautiful young Suri girl near Kibish in the Omo Valley (Image by Inger Vandyke)

A pair of Steller's Sea Eagles go head to head in Hokkaido, Japan! (Image by Pete Morris)

Snow Monkeys are good jumpers (image by Mark Beaman)

A Mursi woman wearing her signature lip disk (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Red-crowned Crane detail (image by Mark Beaman)

Ah, that feels good! (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

Polar Bear mother and cub (Image by Roy Mangersnes)

These Dalmatian Pelicans in Romania's Danube Delta are showing the bright red bill pouches of breeding birds (Image by Attila Szilagyi)