A manatee and its calf drift underwater in Hunter Springs, Florida.

An algal bloom in the area had caused a decline in the eelgrass beds that provide them with food, but the local community restored the habitat, resulting in more manatees being recorded than ever before.

The photo taken by Dr Jason Gulley, who is also a geologist, is among several highly commended in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

The competition’s winning photographs will be announced on 8 October, followed by an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, showcasing 100 photographs.

Scroll down to hear more from Jason and see some of the other highly commended photographs.

Jason told the BBC in an interview that he doesn’t normally take photos for competitions.

Manatees are large aquatic mammals commonly known as sea cows.

All three manatee species are listed as vulnerable to extinction due to a variety of threats including boat collisions, hunting and habitat destruction.

“The first time I got into the water with manatees, I saw them being super playful with each other. They were curious and inquisitive,” he said.

“There was one manatee that became super curious about me, and he would leave the other group of manatees and walk on his flippers, and he’d get about halfway towards me and then run back to the group on his flippers.

“A couple of minutes later, he’d come just a little bit closer and then go back, and it just reminded me of experiences like at a dog park.”

“I’ve never seen photographs that capture this behaviour,” Jason said. “I went in to get a few pictures for a project on environmental impacts and conservation, but I got obsessed.”

Sasha had been watching these tawny owlets for several days in a park near his home. He had seen tawny owls in the neighbourhood before but was surprised to discover these so close to the heart of the city.

Highly Commended, 10 Years and Under

Location: Maximiliansanlagen, Munich, Germany

Jose saw this stoat jump mid-air as an “expression of exuberance” as the small mammal hurled itself around in a fresh snowfall.

Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals

Location: Athose, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

The radio alerted Ian that a jaguar had been spotted prowling a tributary of the São Lourenço river. Kneeling in the boat, he was in the perfect position when the cat delivered the skull-crushing bite to the unsuspecting yacare caiman.

Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals

Location: Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil

During Chinese New Year, Xingchao tracked a group of Pallas’s cats on the frozen plateau of Inner Mongolia. Before dawn, Xingchao made eye contact with this cat, just as it caught a bird.

Category – Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals

Location: Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, China

As Lam Soon Tak explored the highlands of Malaysia, he came across this spider, Heteropoda davidbowie, named in 2008 by arachnologist and Bowie fan Dr Peter Jägerthe. Perched on broken branches beside a river, its orange body stood out against the lush green moss.

Highly Commended, Behaviour: Invertebrates

Location: Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia

A standout moment on Tamara’s nine-week expedition in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea was when two seals bobbed up to the surface to take a deeper breath after falling asleep alongside the ship.

Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment

Location: Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Mussels bind themselves to rocks or other mussels on the ocean floor using their hair-like ‘beards’, also called byssal threads. Theo likes to take pictures of species that are not considered beautiful or important, to highlight their unappreciated significance.

Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment

Location: Praia da Ursa, Sintra, Portugal

Thomas used his drone to capture this image, which is a stitched panorama of 26 individual frames, to provide a spectacular view of meltwater plunging over the edge of the Bråsvellbreen glacier.

Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture

Location: Svalbard, Norway

On the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, Tommy photographed a requiem shark, its body arched in a final act of resistance. He was on a research expedition to document bycatch or accidental capture of sharks by tuna and swordfish fishing boats.

Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture

Location: International waters, South Atlantic Ocean

Shreyovi spotted the two Indian peafowl while walking in the forest with her parents.

Runner-Up, 10 Years and Under.

Location: Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India