This spiky tenrec was spotted in Madagascar’s Mantadia National Park in the last decade of September 2025. Mostly nocturnal and rarely seen, it puffs out its spines when threatened. Spiky tenrecs are excellent swimmers — unlike most spiny mammals, some species of tenrec can forage in streams and rivers, using their spines for protection while hunting aquatic insects and small prey. (Photo by Dale Morris/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Sisters Martha Syrett, 6, left, and Etta Syrett, 4, right, measure one of Ian Paton's huge pumpkins at Pinetops Nurseries, Lymington, Hants, UK on October 5, 2025. An enormous pumpkin grown by a pair of green-fingered twins has smashed two world records – it is the heaviest and the longest pumpkin on the planet. Ian and Stuart Paton grew the pumpkin which weighed in at 2,819.8 pounds (1,278.8 kg) – the equivalent of about two bulls. (Photo by Ollie Thompson/Solent News & Photo Agency)

An ostrich is seen at Woburn Safari park before its opening as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions begin to ease, in Woburn, Britain on April 11, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Boyers/Reuters)

Mae Zelinsky, left, and Betty O'Beda test ammunition on a .30 caliber rifle at a Remington Arms plant on April 30, 1943. Many women took over jobs that were left vacant when men went overseas to fight in World War II. (Photo by AP Photo)

A young macaque perches on a pole, observing nearby tourists while eating some seeds in Jigokudani Yaen-koen wild macaque monkey park on February 16, 2015 in Yamanouchi, Nagano, Japan. (Photo by Manuel Romaris/Getty Images)

Takehiko Yagi is a rising star in Japanese photography, and his vibrant pictures of the Hindu spring festival of Holi won the Grand Prize at the fourth annual Nikkei National Geographic Photo Prize. Diving into the Colors of Holi is his first exhibition in the US, on show at Foto Care Gallery in New York until 28 September, 2016. Here: Jaipur, India, 2013, (Photo by Takehiko Yagi/The Guardian)

The Japanese art of raising bonsai trees is a beautiful way to infuse greenery into indoor spaces. But artist Takanori Aiba takes the art to a new level with his incredibly intricate series of bonsai castles. The Japanese artist carves miniature masterpieces that weave in and out of the miniature trees, creating cohesive architectural marvels that burst forth with life!