Participants share a moment after performing at a cultural program during India's Independence Day celebrations in Ajmer, in the desert state of Rajasthan, India, August 15, 2016. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

Nosy neighbour by Sam Hobson, UK. Sam knew exactly who to expect when he set his camera on the wall one summer’s evening in a suburban street in Bristol, the UK’s famous fox city. He wanted to capture the inquisitive nature of the urban red fox in a way that would pique the curiosity of its human neighbours about the wildlife around them. (Photo by Sam Hobson/2016 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Lightning strikes during a storm over the promenade of Palma de Mallorca, Balearics, Spain, on November 4, 2017. Mallorca and Menorca were in yellow alert because of heavy rain and violent winds. (Photo by Cati Cladera/EPA/EFE)

A Hindu devotee lies on the banks of river Ganges she worships the Sun god during the religious festival of Chhath Puja, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kolkata, India on November 20, 2020. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

People look at a skeleton couple kissing installation dubbed “Till Death Do Us Part” during a Valentine's Day event in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, February 13, 2024. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

SpaceX launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites on Mission 12-2 on December 23, 2024. The rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A in Florida. (Photo by USA Today)

Devotees offer prayers during New Year's Day at a Hindu temple in Colombo on January 1, 2025. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

In more “raccoons are getting more like us” news, a drunk raccoon was found in a liquor store in Virginia, US in the first decade of December 2025. The animal had got into the shop via some loose ceiling tiles, knocked bottles of spirits off the shelves, lapped up the contents and passed out in the toilets. Once it had sobered up, it was released back into the wild – no doubt with a crashing hangover. (Photo by AP Photo)