Winner, photojournalism. Elephant in the room, by Adam Oswell, Australia Zoo. Visitors watch a young elephant performing underwater. Oswell was disturbed by this scene, and organisations concerned with the welfare of captive elephants say performances like this encourage unnatural behaviour. In Thailand, there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild. With the Covid pandemic causing tourism to collapse, elephant sanctuaries are becoming overwhelmed with animals that can no longer be looked after by their owners. (Photo by Adam Oswell/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)

Only after World War II did the secret spill: Ōkunoshima, located in the Inland Sea of Japan between Hiroshima and Shikoku, was the top-secret site for manufacturing chemical warfare. When the factories were closed down, a number of exotic wild rabbits were seen freely roaming the island. They were assumed to have been the test subjects for the chemical weapons, which the military failed to eradicate when the factory was demolished.

Talini (R), a 9-month old 160-pound polar bear cub, swims with her mother Barle at the Detroit Zoo's Artic Ring of Life exhibit August 25, 2005 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Talini's birth was the first polar bear birth at the Detroit Zoo in fifteen years. Her mother Barle was wild born and was rescued by the Detroit Zoo from a circus in Puerto Rico in 2002. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Men give bananas to monkeys gathered on the side of the road as India remains under an unprecedented lockdown over the highly contagious coronavirus (COVID-19) on April 08, 2020 in New Delhi, India. Wild animals, including monkeys, are roaming human settlements in India as people are staying indoors due to the 21-day lockdown. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)

South African Sangomas are wizards and witches who are supposedly chosen by their ancestors to follow a traditional training and go through a rite of passage after which they become Sangomas and can cure and help people. They are so respected and trusted that western medical authorities have actually advised the government of South Africa to develop its cooperation with Sangomas in order to improve hygiene and health among the population. (Photo by Patrick Durand/Sygma via Getty Images)

Rascal, and her brother Petey, were abandoned as pups near the railroad tracks in Union County, Arkansas. She is a pit bull cross and approximately 6 months old, in Arkansas, United States. These canine portraits will make any dog lover's day – and they're helping to get sheltered pups adopted at the same time. Kind-hearted photographer Tammy Swarek came up with the idea of dressing up rescue dogs to draw attention to their stories and help potential owners personally connect with them. (Photo by Tammy Swarek/Barcroft Images)

Captured by South African photographer Dillon Marsh, these fantastic photographs depict the many designs employed by sociable weavers to build sturdy nests that are safe from intruders such as cobras and tree snakes. They are also nice cool during the day, and stay warm during cold desert nights. A University of Stellenbosch graduate, Marsh is currently interested in landscape photographer who seeks out anomalies that can be arranged in a photographic series. Assimilation depicts scores of intricate weaver’s nests atop utility poles in Southern Africa. Colonies of sociable weavers have been known to stay attached to one particular nest for up to 100 years, according to The San Diego Zoo.