By Mark McConville
THESE INCREDIBLE images show the highlights of the natural world from Media Drum World in 2018.
The remarkable photogaphs captured some of the more unusual encounters in wildlife this year from a Black Drongo bird hitching a ride on a Crested Serpent Eagleās back to a herd of buffalo turning the tables on a lion and chasing the predator away.
Other stunning pictures revealed some of natureās more lighthearted moments as a āCurious Georgeā gorilla reached out to the photographer and a juvenile baboon got scolded by his mother while his sibling pulled his tail.
Fearsome predators were also captured in action with a huge Great White shark pictured breaching the water, cheetahs taking down an unlucky springbok and two huge brown bears brawling and snarling as they faced off against each other.
Other highlights include a pregnant leopard having herself a lovely feast after taking down a warthog, a Polar bear and her baby looking directly at the camera as the sun sets and a huge colony of King Penguins re-enacting Happy Feet by swarming on a beach.
A trio of dolphins were also caught putting on a ballet display for onlookers as they flipped in and out of the water.
Some photographers even got a little too close for comfort as this extreme close-up of an American Saltwater crocodile proves with the photographer actually swimming alongside the huge predator.