A photographer could bear-ly believe his eyes when a bear started waving at him. The friendly animal wandered to the front of his enclosure before sitting back in full view of zoo guests. He then lifts his powerful paw and excitedly waves in an almost human-like way at his new audience. The hilarious encounter was captured by keen photographer Andrey Slepnev, 31, while on a trip to Madrid Zoo, Spain on March 24, 2016. (Photo by Andrey Slepnev/Caters News)

These portraits reveal the incredibly humanlike expressions of a variety of apes.Through piercing eyes and finite facial details, the intimate photographs show the animals looking angry, sad, delighted and pensive. They are the works of Manuela Kulpa – an IT consultant and keen photographer from near Cologne, Germany – who shot the apes predominantly at zoos across Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands. Here: Bonobo, Azibo. (Photo by Manuela Kulpa/Caters News)

Sunbathers enjoy the beach next to a photograph by Taiwanese Lynn Wu during the photo festival “Women Exhibit” in Houlgate, north-western France, on June 6, 2021. The 4th edition of the photo festival, entirely dedicated to professional women photographers with 14 open-air exhibitions, takes place from June 1 till August 8, 2021. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

Katarina Stefanović is a passionate landscape photographer based in Belgrade, Serbia.

“The fantastic landscape of Bagan in Myanmar features hundreds of temples and pagodas as far as the eye can see. Experiencing this sight at dawn from the basket of a hot air balloon will remain engraved in my memory for ever. Mick Ryan, judge – What a magical photograph and place. The Buddhist temples and pagodas fill the plains of Bagan in Myanmar at sunrise… the golden hour providing beautiful light to illuminate the retrogression of the temples and balloons toward a misty, mountainous distance. An excellent, exotic photograph that makes you want to book a flight”. (Photo by Alastair Swan/The Guardian)

Stunning images show the rolling splendor of the "iceberg capital of the world" under auroras. The photographer even includes himself in many of the shots – a signature of his that offers a fresh take on the conventional selfie, as well as providing a sense of scale to his works. Ziskas shot the photographs over a 10-day visit to western Greenland in September. Here: the photographer even includes himself in many of the shots – a signature of his that offers a fresh take on the conventional selfie, as well as providing a sense of scale to his works. (Photo by Paul Zizkas/Caters News)

In this photograph taken on January 29, 2017, Afghan members of a wushu martial arts group led by trainer Sima Azimi (C), 20, pose for a photograph at the Shahrak Haji Nabi hilltop overlooking Kabul. Afghanistan's first female wushu trainer, Sima Azimi, 20, is training 20 Afghan girls aged between 14 – 20 at a wushu club in Kabul, after learning the sport while living as a refugee in Iran. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A photographer has created a series of paw-traits of hungry dogs pulling hilarious faces as they try and catch treats. Using a unique technique, the shots are captured at the exact moment the adorable pooches attempt to catch an airborne piece of food. The dogs appear surprised, happy, sad, confused – and sometimes even so blasé they miss the treat entirely. The images were taken by Christian Vieler, a photographer from Waltrop, Germany. Here: A labrador retriever. (Photo by Christian Vieler/Caters News)