“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)

Marine biologist Simon Pierce, who studies whale sharks, happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture amazing photo off Cancun, Mexico. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Mercury Press/Caters News)

Iberian lynx Mistral jumps in a field after being released by Portugal's Minister of Environment Joao Matos Fernandes (unseen) and others in the Mount Milhouro (Herdade da Cela) region in Mertola, Portugal, 13 May 2016. Mistralis the 18th lynx bred in captivity released since late 2014. (Photo by Nuno Veiga/EPA)

Elephant polo players in action during the King's Cup Elephant Polo event 2016 final between teams King Power (blue) and The Elephant Story, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 13, 2016. Team King Power won the annual charity event, which is now in its 14th edition. This year's edition involved 18 elephants brought from tourist trekking camps in Pattaya as well as some unemployed in Surin, and a total of 10 teams encompassing over 40 players, in this event directed at raising funds to improve the lives of elephants and elephant conservation. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA)

Participants in traditional dress ride on horseback as they enjoy the atmosphere at the Feria de Abril (April's Fair) on April 12, 2016 in Seville, Spain. The Feria de Abril has a history that dates back to 1857 and takes place a fortnight after Easter each year. The origin of the fair was a cattle market but the event quickly turned its goal from commerce to having fun. More than 1 million local and international participants are expected to attend the Feria de Abril. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Medical workers wearing protective gear to protect against coronavirus infection, carry a patient at infectious diseases hospital where patients with coronavirus are treated in St.Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 3, 2020. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

A man carrying a woman wades through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan province, July 21, 2021. At least 25 people have died in China's flood-stricken central province of Henan, a dozen of them in a subway line in its capital that was drenched by what weather officials called the heaviest rains for 1,000 years. (Photo by China Daily via Reuters)

Minoru Suzuki and Sanshiro Takagi, wrestlers from Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling, fight inside Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya during a wrestling show in Japan on September 18, 2023, in this handout photo released by JR Tokai (The Central Japan Railway Company). (Photo by JR Tokai/Handout via Reuters)