A Thai Buddhist monk prepares to take part in a televised anti-plague prayer at Wat Traimit Temple (Temple of the Golden Buddha) amid lockdown restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Bangkok on March 25, 2020. The monks at Buddhist temples nationwide chanted the Rattanasoot (Seven Legends) Prayer in unison in a bid to boost public morale amid the epidemic of COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Circus artists perform at the International Circus Show started in Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia on June 23, 2022. (Photo by Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Bonita the border collie sticks out in the bluebells at Kingley Vale, Chichester in West Sussex, England in the last decade of April 2024. (Photo by Trevor Adams/Matrix Pictures)

Firefighters and volunteers work to extinguish a wildfire in Krieza, on Evia Island, Greece, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. A strong wind in the Aegean Sea is increasing wildfire risks, while parts of the mainland will see heat of 43C by the end of the week. (Photo by Nick Paleologos/Bloomberg)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is greeted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a welcome ceremony on day one of the 50th G7 summit at Borgo Egnazia on June 13, 2024 in Fasano, Italy. The G7 summit in Puglia, hosted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the seventh held in Italy, gathers leaders from the seven member states, the EU Council, and the EU Commission. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Myanmar T-72 battle tank competes in an individual race of the Tank Biathlon competition as part of the 7th International Army Games 2021 at the Alabino training ground, Moscow region, Russia, 27 August 2021. The 7th International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2021” is held from 22 August till 04 September 2021 at 23 military training grounds of 11 countries. Five thousand participants of 277 teams from 42 countries compete in 34 military contests. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)

First Place, Sports Photojournalist Of The Year. One of 24 photos by Patrick Smith, freelance for Getty Images: Sadie Bezzant is crushed by a sheep during the pre-rodeo entertainment of mutton busting during the Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith)

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)