The moment baby elephant gets a helping hand to escape the slippery waterhole was caught on camera in the Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in the last decade of August 2025. (Photo by Anne Laing/Caters News Agency)

Honorable Mention: “The Storm”. During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment. Photo location: Kocaeli, Turkey. (Photo and caption by Aytül Akbaş/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Swedish brown bears “Fred” and “Frode” play in the snow on January 30, 2014 at the Natur- und Umweltpark (NUP) animal park in Guestrow, northeastern Germany. Despite of icy temperatures, the bear brothers took a break from their winter rest. (Photo by Bernd Wuestneck/AFP Photo/DPA)

A horse at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, UK on July 9, 2025. The county show is expecting to attract 140,000 visitors over four days. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)

A young boy dressed in traditional Tamang dress plays with pigeons as Sonam Lhosar (the new year festival) is observed in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 2, 2022. (Photo by Amit Machamasi/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A tourist takes a selfie with pelicans on the bench in St. James's Park in Westminster, central London on June 19, 2024. (Photo by Marcin Nowak/London News Pictures)

Balal, who killed Iranian youth Abdolah Hosseinzadeh in a street fight with a knife in 2007, is brought to the gallows during his execution ceremony in the northern city of Nowshahr on April 15, 2014. The mother of Abdolah Hosseinzadeh spared the life of the her son's convicted murderer, with an emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution prior to removing the noose around his neck. (Photo by Araash Khamooshi/AFP Photo/ISNA)

A fox runs out onto the pitch before the start of the second half. Celtic League 2012/13, Round 19, Leinster v Ulster, RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin, March 30, 2013. (Photo by Paul Mohan)