Members of Team Japan compete in the Artistic Swimming Team Acrobatic Final on day four of the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A on July 17, 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

A leopard seal feeds Paul Nicklen a penguin. (Photo by Paul Nicklen/National Geographic). Antarctic Peninsula, 2011

The sea leopard. The Antarctic Peninsula. (Photo by Paul Nicklen)

Each year Nikon Small World recognizes the excellence of photography taken under the microscope. The contest showcases the beauty and complexity of life. Anyone interested in microscopy and photography can enter the contest and in its 42nd year, Nikon Small World received 2,000 entries from 70 countries. Here: 11th Place; Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta). (Photo by Francis Sneyers/Nikon's Small World 2016)

Meet the world's smoothest cuddliest hedgehog. Names after brave hero, but Nelson is completely bald so when curled up he looks like an egg. Doesn't have a single prickle or strand of hair. Thought to be suffering a stress related alopecia following a trauma in the wild. Volunteers have been massaging him for half an hour a day for the last year to encourage spikes to grow. Now given up but he still gets daily massages because he enjoys them so much and to keep his cuddle skin soft and smooth. Unlike his namesake Nelson could not defend himself so will live out his days at the Foxy Lodge Wildlife Rescue in Hemsby, England. (Photo by Jeremy Durkin)

A pool ingeniously filled with clear water in the middle of Lake Kerniki in Greece enabled this shot of feeding pelicans. (Photo by Bence Mate/Close Up Photographer of the Year 2020)

“Freestyle skiing is an acrobatic form of technical and aerial skiing. It is organized into a number of different disciplines”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Freeskier Chris Booth of Australia launches off a drop during the World Heli Challenge freestyle day in backcountry at Minaret Station on July 31, 2011 in Wanaka, New Zealand. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

A diver in a pool at the Army 2021 International Military and Technical Forum, at the Patriot military park in Moscow Region, Russia on August 22, 2021. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/TASS/Alamy Live News)