For centuries the Highlands peoples of Papua New Guinea fought over land, women and pigs. Sorcery and battle skills could elevate a clan to Bigmanship, where the bigger the “presentation”, the bigger the man. Clans therefore would paint their bodies and create fearsome masks as part of their psy. Here: These are the terrifying tribe of “mudmen” from a remote part of Papua New Guinea. (Photo by Jeremy Hunter/Exclusivepix Media)

An Indian girl cries as a medical worker collect her swab sample for COVID-19 test at a rural health center in Bagli, outskirts of Dharmsala, India, Monday, September 7, 2020. India's coronavirus cases are now the second-highest in the world and only behind the United States. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo)

Performers walk past a light installation “Butterfly Effect” designed by Japan artist Masamichi Shimada, at the Battersea Power Station in London, Thursday, January 25, 2024. The Light Festival involved seven light installations from British and international artists at Battersea Power Station, which illuminated the winter evenings between Jan. 25 and Feb, 25. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

Horses compete during the 21st Dubai International Arabian Horse Championship with the participation of 205 horses from many countries in Dubai, UAE on March 24, 2024. (Photo by Waleed Zein/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Knights of Middle England equestrian stunt display team perform ahead of the first match on July 13, 2024. The British Beach Polo Championships, or “sand polo”, returns to the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula near Poole, Dorset. Spectators can appreciate the horsemanship, speed and gladiatorial nature of polo at the largest beach polo event in the world. (Photo by Max Willcock/Bournemouth News)

Hundreds of flamingos take flight in the Rift Valley in East Africa early September 2024. The birds gather in the region’s saline lakes to eat the blue-green algae that grows in abundance. The red-orange pigment in the algae is what gives them their distinctive pink plumage. They also use the site to breed. (Photo by Alexandre and Chloe Bes/Naturagency/Solent News)

The 26th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is now accepting submissions. Official categories include: “Travel Portraits”, “Outdoor Scenes”, “Sense of Place” and “Spontaneous Moments”. The contest is accepting entries until June 30. Photo: “Forest lights”. Aurora Borealis over the forest of the Pyhae Luosto National Park, Finland. (Photo and caption by Nicholas Roemmelt/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Eight-year-old handicapped Chinese girl Qian Hongyan crawls with two home-made props and part of a basketball at Zhuangxia Village on January 5, 2005 in Luliang County of Qujing City, Yunnan Province, China. The girl who lost both of her legs in a traffic accident in 2000 at the age of three, struggles to live her life with a basketball as an underprop, “walking” between school and home by herself. The girl's story is widely reported in the country, and experts from China Rehabilitation Research Center has come to Qian's home to help her for rehabilitative treatment early 2005. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)