In this undated photo entitled “Close Call”, a Hawaiian green sea turtle swims through a breaking wave on the North Shore of Oahu near Haleiwa, Hawaii. The image appears in photographer Clark Little's new book, “The Art of Waves”. (Photo by Clark Little via AP Photo)

Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 620 miles (1,000 km) from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique “living museum and showcase of evolution”. Photo: “Close-up. We had a juvenile Red-Footed Booby come visit us on the sun deck. I got some closeups with my ultrawide 11-16mm Tokina”. (Photo by Carl Fredrickson)

A mouse rides on the back of a frog in floodwaters in the northern Indian city Lucknow June 30, 2006. (Photo by Pawan Kumar/Reuters)

“The Wild Animal Sanctuary is a U.S. organization that specializes in rescuing and caring for large predators which are being ill-treated, for which their owners can no longer care, or which might otherwise be euthanized. Created in 1980, The Wild Animal Sanctuary is situated on 720 acres (291 ha) of grassland near Keenesburg, Colorado North of Denver, and has helped over 1,000 animals since it first opened. As of 2010, it was home to over 290 animals”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Rescued brown and black bears feed at The Wild Animal Sanctuary on October 20, 2011 in Keenesburg, Colorado. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

David Hall’s photographs of scenery and creatures off the coast of Canada in the Pacific Northwest portray serenity under the water, which belie the extreme challenges he faces to get his images. For each shoot, Hall wears a dry suit, a neoprene body suit that covers all of his body but his head and traps air inside to keep him warm. Water temperature in Canada’s British Columbia typically ranges between 45 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Photo: Moon jellyfish and cross jellies. (Photo by David Hall)

North Korean women in colorful traditional dresses are surrounded by flower blossoms known as “Kimilsungia” as they wait to guide guests at a flower exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 14, 2014. The flowers, named after Kim Il Sung, are on display to celebrate the late leader's official birth date of April 15, 1912. (Photo by David Guttenfelder/AP Photo)

These brave models show no fear as they pose with bears, tigers and wolves in scenes straight from the pages of a fairy tale. The snaps show the models cuddling up to the deadly animals and even taking naps with the often unpredictable creatures. Here: “Marina with a bear”. Stepan, a 700-pound grizzly bear, was adopted by a Russian couple when he was just 3 months old. (Photo by Olga Barantseva/Caters News Agency)

Fossil records indicate that this early lizard, Megalania (Megalania prisca or Varanus priscus), was a whopping seven metres in length. They were part of a megafaunal assemblage that inhabited southern Australia during the Pleistocene. The youngest fossil remains date to around 50,000 years ago. The first aboriginal settlers of Australia might have encountered them and been a factor in their extinction. (Photo by Sky TV/The Guardian)