Alice Goodridge (left) and Tanya Mackenzie (right), members of the Loch Insh Dippers wild swim group, take part in a Christmas-themed swim in the frozen Loch Insh, Kingussie, in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland on Friday, December 13, 2024. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

Nosy neighbour by Sam Hobson, UK. Sam knew exactly who to expect when he set his camera on the wall one summer’s evening in a suburban street in Bristol, the UK’s famous fox city. He wanted to capture the inquisitive nature of the urban red fox in a way that would pique the curiosity of its human neighbours about the wildlife around them. (Photo by Sam Hobson/2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Balinese I Ketut Widanta or known as Lelut rides to collect fodder with his dogs sits on his motorbike in Canggu, Bali, Indonesia on November 05, 2021. Lelut becomes famous for his attractive style of carrying six of his rescued dogs with a modified motorbike while collecting food waste from restaurants. Currently, he takes care of twenty rescued dogs which some of them were dumped by the owners on the street due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Often he receives dog food donations from dog lovers since the collapse of Bali tourism affects his income. (Photo by Johannes P. Christo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A woman wears a mask while carrying a dog in the street on January 22, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. A new infectious coronavirus known as “2019-nCoV” was discovered in Wuhan as the number of cases rose to over 400 in mainland China. Health officials stepped up efforts to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease which medicals experts confirmed can be passed from human to human. The death toll has reached 17 people as the Wuhan government issued regulations today that residents must wear masks in public places. Cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. (Photo by Getty Images/China Stringer Network)

A boy attends Eid al-Adha prayers on the street outside Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad Adhamiya district, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Iraq, July 31, 2020. (Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters)

A person stands near the “Untitled” installation of miniature elevators by Maurizio Cattelan at a preview of the Postwar and Contemporary Art Evening Sale at Christie's auction house on November 4, 2011 in New York City. The 33-inch functioning elevator installation is expected to realize $400,000-$600,000 at the November 8 auction. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Thomas Thwaites of the United Kingdom accepts the 2016 Ig Nobel Prize in Biology for “creating prosthetic extensions of his limbs that allowed him to move in the manner of, and spend time roaming the hills in the company of, goats” during the 26th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. September 22, 2016. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)