On a frigid early morning during the Chinese New Year, a stealthy Pallas’s cat prepares for a breakfast of freshly caught bird. In that moment, Xingchao Zhu snapped a photograph. The wild cat’s piercing golden eyes connect with the camera, the light of the setting moon creating a dramatic backdrop.

An exhibition showing some of the top entries from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition is to go on display in Birmingham. This year’s competition attracted 59,228 entries taken by photographers from 117 countries and territories. Judging ...