Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

In this photo taken Friday, September 4, 2015, tourists Sarah and John Scott from Worcester, England, take a step back as a male silverback mountain gorilla from the family of mountain gorillas named Amahoro, which means “peace” in the Rwandan language, unexpectedly steps out from the bush to cross their path in the dense forest on the slopes of Mount Bisoke volcano in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda. Deep in Rwanda's steep-sloped forest, increasing numbers of tourists are heading to see the mountain gorillas, a subspecies whose total population is an estimated 900 and who also live in neighboring Uganda and Congo, fueling an industry seen as key to the welfare of the critically endangered species as well as Rwanda's economy. (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

A bystander walks past a fresco by street artist Seth depicting a girl with a Ukrainian flag walking on tanks in Paris on March 01, 2022. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

Youtubers wearing masks of pigs film a video at a shopping district which has fewer people than usually amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan, May 19, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A restaurant worker wearing a mask cleans the windows as the restaurant reopens amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Monday, July 6, 2020. Bars, restaurants and beauty salons were allowed to re-open Monday after over three months of quarantine, and are required to observe preventative measures and reduced operating hours only during the day. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

A group of riders splash down a water slide in Bromont, Que on Monday, June 29, 2020 as water parks reopen in the province of Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Canadian Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman wearing a face mask takes a photo on her phone in Covent Garden, London, Thursday, December 3, 2020. Britain became the first country in the world to authorize a rigorously tested COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday and could be dispensing shots within days – a historic step toward eventually ending the outbreak that has killed more than 1.4 million people around the globe. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo)

Elise Graham takes part in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships 2017 with a rubber duck on her back on August 27, 2017 in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. The competition draws competitors from all over the world and is now in its 32nd year. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)