Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

This photo released by the Cleveland Animal Protective League shows Lurleen, the nursing mother and Noland the puppy snuggling up Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in Cleveland. Lurleen already is caring for four newborn kittens and now is nursing the orphaned week-old pit bull puppy in Cleveland. (Photo by AP Photo/Cleveland Animal Protective League)

Three very colouful alpacas enjoy the hot weather at Toft Farm, Rugby, on July 19, 2013. (Photo by Caters News)

A large Pacific sideband snail slowly crosses a rain wet road in rural Douglas County, Oregon near Elkton on Sunday, December 2, 2012. The moisture loving snail should be very content with the recent heavy rains in southwestern Oregon and northern California. (Photo by Robin Loznak)

A squirrel digs into a pumpkin in Washington, U.S., November 28, 2022. (Photo by Amanda Andrade-Rhoades./Reuters)

An activist of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stands along a road wearing a coat with baby dolls to raise awareness about the leather industry, in Hyderabad, India on May 6, 2022. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)

Nobby the polar bear cools down as he plays in a lake at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster, England, Friday June 17, 2022. A blanket of hot air stretching from the Mediterranean to the North Sea is giving much of western Europe its first heat wave of the summer, with temperatures forecast to top 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) from Malaga to London on Friday. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Wire via AP Photo)

Members of the Scottish Chinese community take part in Edinburgh Chinese New Year Festival on January 30, 2022 in Edinburgh, Scotland. 2022 marks the Chinese Year of the Tiger, Chinese New Year in Edinburgh has become one of the largest celebrations of its kind in Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)