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)

Bouboule, an English bulldog rests in its hotel room at Actuel Dogs on April 19, 2011 in Vincennes, France. Opened in November 2010 by Devi and Stan Burun, Actuel Dogs is a five-star luxury hotel for dogs with four single rooms and two suites. With the aim of meeting the dogs' needs, the hotel offers activities including doggy walks, doggy rando (hiking), doggy jogs, doggy velo (running next to a bike) and other services such as dog massage. The hotel also caters to the needs of people living in small appartments or who don't have the time to walk their dogs. (Photo by Franck Prevel/Getty Images)

Alexandra Crockett, a musician and jewelry designer, has been present and active in the metal community since the age of 15 and is currently a doctoral student in the Bay Area. Beginning her idea for the book by doing promotional photos for bands and friends she would cat-sit for, she found an interesting dynamic between men in the metal scene and their cats. The idea for the book formed around giving accolades to local musicians and artists in the metal scene, while also bringing to light no-kill shelters and their importance for animal rights.

“Animals take on human characteristics in this photo series by Davide Luciano. Davide’s goal was to achieve personification of these animals’ body parts without the use of motion. Using photography’s ability to manipulate time, Davide presents a snippet of these creature “active” lives by photographing a process, thus creating the illusion of life in these lifeless animal limbs. Recreating the uncomfortable into quizzical and whimsical photos that are bold, colorful, and always comical and satirical”. (Photos and caption by Davide Luciano)

Lisa Yu crawls through a mud pit under low slung barbed wire as she competes in The Tough Bloke Challenge on March 4, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The Tough Bloke Challenge is one of the most gruelling adventure runs in Australia consisting of 18 obstacles over a 6 km cross-country course laden with thick mud-pits and ice-cold water crossings. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Yulin, a city in southern China, celebrates the summer solstice by throwing a festival that involves the slaughter and consumption of as many as 10,000 dogs. Not everyone in China supports such practices, however; 65-year-old Yang Xiaoyun, a retired teacher who runs an animal shelter in Tianjin, traveled more than 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and spent more than 7,000 yuan ($1,100 or €990) to save 100 dogs from certain death.

A truck lays overturned onto a car following strong winds at a Kurnell industrial park after a rare tornado hit the Sydney suburb December 16, 2015. The tornado hit Sydney on Wednesday with destructive winds above 200 km an hour (125 mph) and cricket ball-sized hail, bringing down trees and power lines, tearing off roofs, overturning vehicles and causing flash flooding. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)