A reveler performs during the Myths and Legends parade in Medellin, Antioquia department, Colombia on December 8, 2018. (Photo by Joaquín Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

A pink grasshopper is spotted at the Messingham Sand Quarry in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, UK in the second decade of July 2023. The dazzling creature is incredibly rare, with experts estimating that a person has a chance of about 1 per cent of seeing one in their lifetime. (Photo by Calvin Taylor Lee/Animal News Agency)

Winner – Animal Portraits: The pose by Mogens Trolle, Denmark. A young male proboscis monkey cocks his head slightly and closes his eyes. Unexpected pale blue eyelids now complement his immaculately groomed auburn hair. He poses for a few seconds as if in meditation. He is a wild visitor to the feeding station at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in Sabah, Borneo – “the most laid-back character”, says Trolle, “quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen on another monkey” – connects us, he hopes, with a fellow primate. (Photo by Mogens Trolle/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020)

Indian Christians take part in Christmas prayers at the Infant Jesus church in Bangalore, India, 25 December 2020. Most Christians celebrate Christmas on 25 December to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA/EFE)

Tourists in the Serengeti, Tanzania in the second decade of February 2024, get more than they bargained for as a cheetah jumps on the bonnet of their jeep to make their acquaintance. (Photo by Ann Aveyard/Animal News Agency)

Australian skateboarder Arisa Trew arrives for the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony, in Madrid, Spain, 22 April 2024. (Photo by Kiko Huesca/EPA)

Sleeping Anthidium. Female Anthidium punctatum; Size: 7 mm. (Photo by John Hallmén)

In one of the planet’s most desolate and harsh terrains, the Altai Mountains which run from Siberia in Russia down to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, hunting with eagles is currently only practiced by a handful of Kyrgyz and Kazakhs. This form of falconry, the practice of hunting with the aid of birds of prey, can be traced back as far as 4,000 years in Central Asia. Here: after a successful hunt, a proud hunter rewards his eagle by feeding it the lungs of the prey, which is considered the most highly prized part of the animal. (Photo by Tariq Zaidi/The Washington Post)