People and Nature category winner: Why did the sloth cross the road? by Andrew Whitworth (Osa Conservation and University of Glasgow), taken in Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. “I was driving out from the Osa Peninsula, located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica on a dark, stormy day. This female three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) had luckily just about made it across the road, and the drivers of the Toyota on this occasion had spotted her in good time”. (Photo by Andrew Whitworth/2019 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)

“GoPro is a brand of the privately owned San Mateo, California company Woodman Labs that features “wearable” camera/camcorders such as helmet cameras that are targeted at adventure video/photography. Widely used by professionals and hobbyists”. – Wikipedia. Photo: “Skydiving fun in Miami by Ralph Turner. This is a shot I took yesterday at Skydive Miami during a fun jump with friend Dexter Marcelino”. (Photo by Ralph Turner)

A picture taken on October 17, 2014 in Vevey shows a giant fork designed by Switzerland's artist Jean-Pierre Zaugg to commemorate Nestle's Alimentarium Food Museum 10th anniversary. World's biggest food company, Swiss Nestle Group announced results sales down by 3.1% for the first nine months of 2014 to 66.2 billion Swiss francs (55.1 billion euros). (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

Tim Laman is a field biologist and wildlife photojournalist. His pioneering research in the rain forest canopy in Borneo led to a PhD from Harvard and his first National Geographic article in 1997. Since then, he has pursued his passion for exploring wild places and documenting little-known and endangered wildlife by becoming a regular contributor to National Geographic. He has eighteen articles to his credit to date, all of which have had a conservation message. Some have focused on endangered species such as Orangutans or Hornbills, while others, such as a series of articles on Conservation International’s Biodiversity Hotspots, have highlighted regions under intense pressure.

In this photograph taken on August 20, 2022 a woman dances with a child alongside the Garonne river in Toulouse, southern France. (Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP Photo)

Mae Muller of the United Kingdom performs during dress rehearsals at the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

Dogs and owners run during of 4k pet run “A Race with a Cause”, organized to raise funds for a shelter for rescued dogs in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, April 30, 202. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

This photo taken on September 1, 2023 shows a one-day-old female Sumatran elephant by her 41-year-old mother elephant named Lisa at the Elephant Flying Squad camp in the Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan, Sumatra. (Photo by Wahyudi/AFP Photo)