Canoeists are framed by the tail of a breaching whale in Antarctica in April 2023. The photographer, from California, writes: “It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime moment”. (Photo by Jiahong Zeng/Solent News)

A municipal worker cleans the monument of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin from a crane during preparations for the 153th anniversary of Lenin's birthday in St. Petersburg, Russia, 18 April 2023. The monument to Vladimir Lenin at the Moscow Square was installed in 1970. It was made according to the project of the sculptor Mikhail Anikushin and is the tallest monument to Lenin in St. Petersburg. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Firefighters take part in the bodybuilding event during a firefighting skills contest at the National Fire Service Academy in Gongju, South Korea on June 13, 2023. (Phoot by Yonhap/EPA)

Staff take no chances at a dog-grooming salon in Rotterdam in the second decade of June 2023. (Photo by RUT/Splash News and Pictures)

Switzerland's forward #19 Eseosa Aigbogun (L) fights for the ball with Philippines' defender #16 Sofia Harrison (R) and Philippines' forward #21 Katrina Guillou during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup Group A football match between the Philippines and Switzerland at Dunedin Stadium in Dunedin on July 21, 2023. (Photo by Sanka Vidanagama/AFP Photo)

A woman leans against the colonnade of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (also known as the Victory Museum ) – the largest museum of military history in Russia at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow on August 18, 2023. (Photo by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP Photo)

Logan Kanan handfeeding Hammerhead sharks in a tank at Neal Watson's Bimini Scuba Center in the Bahamas in August 2023. (Photo by Ken Kiefer/Caters News Agency)

Reverend Peter Wall blesses a hamster during “The Blessing of Animals” at St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 30, 2023. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)