The endangered kea is the world’s only alpine parrot, and one of the most intelligent birds. They show no fear of humans and are thieves and pranksters. The parrot is seen in the Whakaari conservation area, near Glen Orchy in the Otago region of New Zealand, a place where historic huts and mining relics are surrounded by stunning mountains covered in tussock. (Photo by Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian)

Indian Hindu devotees carry an idol of the elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha for immersion in a temporary pond near Sangam in Allahabad on September 4, 2017. The Ganesh Chaturthi festival is a popular 11-day religious festival which is annually celebrated across India. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

A cygnet keeps snug under its mother’s wing at Heronry Pond in Wanstead Park in east London in the last decade of May 2024. (Photo by Jeff Moore/The Times)

“Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. There are two extant species, the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas) and the short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus). The two are not readily distinguished at sea and analysis of the skulls is the best way to tell the difference between the two species. Between the two species, pilot whales range in waters nearly worldwide with long-finned pilot whales living in cooler waters and short-finned pilot whales living in warmer waters. Pilot whales are among the largest of the oceanic dolphins, exceeded in size only by the killer whale. They and other large members of the dolphin family are also known as blackfish”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Pilot whales swim in Loch Carron on May 20, 2011 in South Uist, Scotland. A major operation is underway to prevent up to 100 pilot whales from stranding on the rocky shoreline of Loch Carron on South Uist in the Western Isles. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Yak near Yamdrok lake, Tibet. It is a long-haired bovinae found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land, the primary occupation of the Tibetan Plateau is raising livestock, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, dzo, and horses. The Tibetan yak is an integral part of Tibetan life. (Photo by Dennis Jarvis)

A girl rides a broomstick in front of a green screen at the new Harry Potter Studio Tour at Warner Brothers Leavesden Studios on March 23, 2012 in London, England. The studio, which includes the actual sets and special effects departments where the films were created and shot, goes on public display on March 31, 2012. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The endangered antipodean albatross, which is often caught in fishing nets, won most first-choice votes out of the more than 55,000 votes cast during the 2020 New Zealand’s bird of the year competition. (Photo by Wildestanimal/Getty Images)