At the end of every year we do a “Best of *inset year here*” series, in which we count down the top 10 most popular photos in every single category. From Urban Exploration to Nature; from Underwater to Food; from Performing Arts to the City and Architecture category.

These are some of the community’s favorite posts, raising the bar as they point out the best of the best (or at the least most popular…) images shared on 500px from the past year. But why wait for December to check in with the categories? Let’s see how the community is doing now that we’re a few months into 2016 and really rolling.

Below are the 20 most popular Wildlife photos shared on 500px this year so far:

20. Jump into the New Year with a spring in your step by Austin Thomas

Jump into the New Year with a spring in your step by Austin Thomas on 500px.com

19. Ice age giant by Roy Mangersnes

Ice age giant by Roy Mangersnes on 500px.com

18. Orange by Mark Bridger

orange by Mark Bridger on 500px.com

17. Fox by Robert Adamec

Fox by Robert Adamec on 500px.com

16. Untitled by Sergey Polyushko

*** by Sergey Polyushko on 500px.com

15. Frosty Hare by Simon Roy

Frosty Hare by Simon Roy on 500px.com

14. Air to Air Combat by Marsel van Oosten

Air To Air Combat by Marsel van Oosten on 500px.com

13. Bear family standing by Tin Man

Bear family standing by Tin Man on 500px.com

12. I shall drink this II by Shan Huang

I shall drink this II … by Shan Huang on 500px.com

11. IMG_0890.JPG by David Silverman

IMG_0890.JPG by David Silverman on 500px.com

10. Polar bear with cub. Mother love by Anton Belovodchenko

Polar bear with cub. Mother love by Anton Belovodchenko on 500px.com

9. Red fly by Marco Redaelli

Red fly by Marco Redaelli on 500px.com

8. Om by Pedro Jarque Krebs

Om by Pedro Jarque Krebs on 500px.com

7. Fights Without Rules by Mike Reyfman

Fights Without Rules by Mike Reyfman on 500px.com

6. Underwater Elephant by Vitaliy Sokol

Underwater Elephant by Vitaliy Sokol on 500px.com

5. Fighting for a pine cone by Vadim Trunov

Fighting for a pine cone by Vadim Trunov on 500px.com

4. Great Grey Owl Head-on by Rick Dobson

Great Grey Owl Head-on by Rick Dobson on 500px.com

3. Happy Fox is Happy by Roeselien Raimond

Happy Fox is Happy by Roeselien Raimond on 500px.com

2. Cherry blossom season by FuYi Chen

? Cherry blossom season ? by FuYi Chen on 500px.com

1. Hands up by Georg Scharf

Hands up by Georg Scharf on 500px.com

Be sure to keep visiting ISO over the next couple of weeks as we continue checking in with some of our favorite categories, sharing the most popular images uploaded so far in 2016.

If you have a favorite wildlife photo uploaded this year that you think deserved a spot in the Top 20, drop us a link in the comments! And don’t forget to say hello and let us know what you think of each list as it goes live.