Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)

Andrew Parkinson, animal behaviour category winner: Crepuscular Contentment, Derbyshire. “In 15 years of working with badgers I’ve never seen a badger sit out in the open to have a scratch. I was sat concealed behind a tree and downwind so it was especially nice that the badger had his back to me, demonstrating just how inconspicuous and inconsequential my presence was”. (Photo by Andrew Parkinson/British Wildlife Photography Awards 2017)

Participants take part in the annual New Year' s Day Parade in central London, United Kingdom on January 1, 2018. Reports state that 8,000 performers representing the London boroughs and countries from across the globe are parading along the streets of London's West End on New Year’s Day. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/AFP Photo)

Residents recently returning to their area cleared by government troops react as they ride a tricycle a day after President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi city in southern Philippines Wednesday, October 18, 2017. Sporadic explosions continue Wednesday as Philippine soldiers fought to gain control of the last pocket of Marawi controlled by Islamic militants. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)

Aymara indigenous people celebrate the “Roscasiri”, the change of command of local authorities, in Pomata District, one of seven districts of the Chucuito Province in the Puno Region, southern Peru, on January 1, 2022. This ancient Aymara event, in which people adorn themselves with breads and fruits that represent abundance for the new year, celebrates the change of command of local authorities. (Photo by Carlos Mamani/AFP Photo)

A rabbit stands among the rubble of a collapsed building in the aftermath of powerful earthquakes in Hatay, Turkey, 23 February 2023. More than 46,000 people died and thousands more were injured after major earthquakes struck southern Turkey and northern Syria on 06 February and again on 20 February. (Photo by Erdem Sahin/EPA)

A worker sits as illegally harvested sandalwood confiscated by Kenya's multiagency security teams is set ablaze to curb the trade in their essential oil, which is extracted to manufacture medicines and cosmetics at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices along Kiambu road in Nairobi, Kenya on February 28, 2023. (Photo by Monicah Mwangi/Reuters)

A model holds a 18,18 carat pink diamond called “Fortune Pink” that could fetch 30 million U.S. dollars during a preview at Christie’s before the auction sale in Geneva, Switzerland on November 2, 2022. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)