A woman poses as she has her picture taken amid 1600 panda bear sculptures in Berlin August 5, 2013. Marking the 50th anniversary of its existence, on Monday the German branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) environmental conservation organisation placed 1600 panda bear sculptures on front of Berlin's main train station to draw attention to the plight of the endangered species that serves as the NGO's mascot. There are currently 1600 panda bears alive in the wild, the organisation said in a press release. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

“Serengeti National Park encompasses 5,700 square miles of grassy plains and woodlands near the northern border of Tanzania, and is home to more than 3,500 lions grouped into a couple dozen prides. Photographer Nick Nichols and videographer Nathan Williamson made several extended trips to the Serengeti between July 2011 and January 2013, determined to break new visual ground in their coverage of the Serengeti Lions”. Photo: Cubs of the Simba East pride: too young to kill but old enough to crave meat. Adult females, and sometimes males, do the hunting. Zebras and wildebeests rank high as chosen prey in the rainy season. (Photo by Michael Nichols/National Geographic via The Atlantic)

A general view showing the shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia in an upright position after the salvage operations in Giglio island, Italy, 17 September 2013. Salvage crews pulled off a major engineering feat when they straightened the listed Costa Concordia cruise ship from the rocks it had been wedged against for the past 20 months. The delicate operation took 19 hours and was completed at 4 am (0200 GMT). The vessel ran aground near the island of Giglio, in Tuscany, in an accident that made world-wide news. (Photo by Angelo Carconi/EPA)

Palestinians and Israelis enjoy the Mediterranean sea during the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, August 8, 2013. The three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. One of the most important holidays in the Muslim world, Eid al-Fitr, is marked with prayers, family reunions and other festivities. (Photo by Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

“The Independence day”. While on storm chasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in USA I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado on My 28th, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail and some rain. Photo location: Julesburg, Colorado, USA. (Photo and caption by Marko Korošec/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A 20-year-old Japanese macaque monkey named Monday scratches her eyes while suffering an allergy to pollen from the cedar tree at Awajishima Monkey Centre on March 17, 2013 in Sumoto, Japan. Many monkeys are suffering the effects of hay fever at this time of the year, with the typical symptoms being the same as with humans. According to Awajishima Monkey center this year hay fever is higher than last year, the pollen season is from February to April. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Brazilian graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra (C) puts the final touches to his piece of art in tribute to Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, next to his assistants, at the financial center on Sao Paulo's Avenida Paulista January 22, 2013. Kobra created the 56-metre (61-yard) tall graffiti artwork as a tribute to Niemeyer, one of the 20th century's most influential modernist architects. Niemeyer died in December 2012, aged 104. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

Faithful carry a boat out to sea, filled with offerings to Yemanja, the African sea goddess, during a ceremony honoring the deity in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saturday, February 2, 2013. Thousands of worshippers come to the beach in Montevideo on her feast day, February 2, bearing candles, flowers, perfumes and fruit to show their gratitude for her blessings bestowed upon them. The belief in the goddess sprouts from Umbanda, a blend of religions that include African, Catholicism and Spiritism. (Photo by Matilde Campodonico/AP Photo)