Special Merit Award. Mallory Franklin (2019). The British slalom canoeist has competed internationally since 2009 and won nine medals in total at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds, four silvers and a bronze. She has also won eleven medals at the European Championships. (Photo by Richard Pelham/World Sports Photography Awards 2021)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

Prepare yourself for some rib-tickling laughter because the Comedy Wildlife Awards has announced its finalists. Founded by Tanzania-based photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam, the aim of the awards is to put a spotlight on wildlife conservation efforts while simultaneously injecting some humour into the world of wildlife photography. Here: Mountains Gorilla is making grimaces, as he came out of the bush after the rain, in Virunga National Park, Rwanda. (Photo by Josef Friedhuber/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards/Barcroft Media)

Andrea Rossato, Italy. Professional; Candid. Children enjoy the simple pleasures of a seaside holiday. (Photo by Andrea Rossato/Sony World Photography Awards)

Coast and marine winner: Storm Gull (Lesser black-backed gull), New Haven, East Sussex. (Photo by Craig Denford/British Wildlife Photography Awards)

Leopard seal chasing a Gentoo penguin in Antarctica. This image wins the gold prize in the behaviour – mammals category, and the grand prize of World Nature Photographer of the Year. (Photo by Amos Nachoum/World Nature Photography Awards)

This year’s overall winner and winner of the coast and marine category is George Stoyle with his image “Hitchhikers” of a Lion’s mane jellyfish, photographed at St Kilda, off the Island of Hirta, Scotland. (Photo by George Stoyle/British Wildlife Photography Awards 2016)

Ornamental chicken breeding clubs have emerged in Indonesia, Thailand, North America and even European countries such as the UK and France. Malaysia is however the epicenter of this cultural phenomenon. These chickens are prized for their build, size, behavior and showmanship by their owners and competitions or beauty contests as they are often described are held almost every week in at least one village in Malaysia. Judges sit around a square table inspecting each chicken for a few minutes trying to determine a champion specimen in its own weight class based on its stance, temperament and physical assets like wings, tails and comb. The walk or strut by an ornamental chicken in a beauty contest, much like a runway model, constitutes a large part of the scoring system. (Photo by Ernest Goh/2013 Sony World Photography Awards)