This is the moment a diver appears to shake hands with a giant 52ft whale. The divers were just metres away when one humpback whale – which weighs 36,000kg – extends its giant flipper in a peaceful manner. (Photo by Masa Ushioda/SeaPics/Solent News & Photo Agency)

A man reacts as he tries to extinguish a burning Christmas tree at Festival Walk mall in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, November 12, 2019. Anti-government protesters smashed windows and set fires in the mall on Tuesday, including to a big Christmas tree. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

New species have been created by an enterprising artist who has merged photos of animals together in this incredible series of pictures. Californian Sarah DeRemer, 25, started making hybrid animals as a way to improve her photoshop skills. Here: cross between a tabby cat and a sparrow. (Photo by Sarah DeRemer/Caters News)

The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft carrying the International Space Station (ISS) crew blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, July 23, 2015. The Russian rocket carries Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, U.S. astronaut Kjell Lindgen and Japan astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Photo by Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters)

Flamingoes in Laguna Colorada, Altiplano, Bolivia, South America in 2018. (Photo by Oksana Belikova/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Rugby Union, Hong Kong Sevens, Hong Kong Stadium on April 9, 2016: A fan wearing a mask is hugged. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

A skydiver dressed as Santa Claus prepares to leap out of a plane as 155 tandem skydivers set a new Guinness World Record over eight hours, over the Australian city of Wollongong, December 17, 2016. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

A fan cosplays as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn during the 2017 New York Comic Con, Day 4 on October 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/WireImage)