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)

Runner-up. “The heavens opened and the streets around Shibuya, Tokyo, were suddenly drenched in even more colour and movement. I was taking photos (my friend was holding the umbrella) when I noticed this woman at the crossing. I’m pleased with the futuristic feel of the image”. (Photo by Katherine Bridgestock/The Guardian)

“After an afternoon of hiking and exploring the caves of Rhossili Bay, West Glamorgan, we caught the sun breaking through the clouds”. (Photo by Megan Warren-Davis/The Guardian)

A Bengal tiger licks a glass enclosure during a presentation of Bengial tiger cubs at the Malabon Zoo in Malabon City, north of Manila, Philippines, 14 July 2016. The Bengal tiger cubs, which were born at the zoo, are two months old and named “Tiger Duterte” and “Tiger Leni”. The Malabon Zoo has one of the largest private collections of exotic and endemic animals in the Philippines. (Photo by Mark R. Cristino/EPA)

Zhu Jianqiang, or “strong-willed pig”, famous for surviving more than a month buried in the ruins after the magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, feeds on food sent by admirers wishing it a safe winter in Jianchuan Museum, Chengdu city, southwest China's Sichuan province, 11 January 2021. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A dog has its portrait taken at a pet show in Hong Kong on February 3, 2023. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/AFP Photo)

A supporter of South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a rally on a road near the Constitutional Court in Seoul on February 4, 2025, after Yoon arrived at the court for hearings that will decide whether to remove him from office. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

Men at work at the Cardiff Institute, making huge baskets, unique in size and construction, for loading oil cake in South Africa. (Photo by Maeers/Getty Images). 1938