Wildcat kittens, European brown bears and even elusive wolverines are just some of the subjects shared by young photographers from across the UK, thanks to a Penryn-based student of University of Exeter.

Young Wildlife Photographers UK is an online community set up by Danielle Connor, 21, a second year zoology student at the Penryn Campus. It allows the UK’s most talented young photographers to share their pictures of wildlife with one another and the British public.

Danielle is encouraging talented young photographers under the age of 25 from Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and the rest of the region, to contribute their best wildlife photos.

A number of experts have praised the group, including Chris Packham at the RSPCA Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Conference; Gemma Ward, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition manager, and Danny Green, photographer for National Geographic.

A gallery of photos from members of the community were recently featured in BBC Wildlife Magazine, in support of World Wildlife Day. It featured images of a variety of animals, four of which were snapped by students at the University of Exeter, including Danielle herself. Her entry featured a red deer at Richmond Park.

Will Hawkes, 20, also a second year zoology student, managed to capture a stunning close-up of a ruby tailed wasp on camera at The Lizard; second year conservation biology student, Ben Porter’s photograph featured a silhouette of a grey seal, and zoology student Jack Barton, had his abstract photograph of a ring-necked parakeet featured in BBC Wildlife Magazine too.

Young Wildlife Photographers UK was set up in 2013 and was created through Danielle’s desire to meet people her own age who shared her passion. She now has over 1,000 likes on her FaceBook page and 40 active contributors from across the UK, all under the age of 25.

“I’ve been taking wildlife photos since the age of 14, but I found it difficult to find friends I could share it with,” Danielle said, “so I decided to do something about that. I set up a FaceBook group which started small but has grown massively over the past 3 years or so. Now we have real professionals recognising our work, which is incredible!”

“I feel proud to have started such a friendly community and I’ve made great friends along the way. The feedback has been overwhelmingly encouraging and I can’t wait for the project to grow even further. We are planning conferences, meet-ups and a launch of a new website in the future and I can’t wait to share this young talent to an even wider audience.”