At 10,582 square kilometres, the Bolivian salt flats – otherwise known as Salar de Uyuni – are the largest on the planet and contain between 50 and 70% of the world’s lithium reserves. After exploring Chile and Argentina, photographer Joel Santos decided to travel to Bolivia in January 2017 to check the salt flats off his bucket list. With an electrical storm rolling in, Joel and his two travelling companions were the only souls left on the vast flats and captured the eerie flats without a person in sight. (Photo by Joel Santos/Barcroft Images)

A young visitor interacts with a baby hippopotamus swimming in its enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on January 1, 2018. Tourists and locals flocked to the zoo in the German capital on the unseasonably warm first day of the year. (Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP Photo)

The Clavie, a burning barrel packed with tar soaked sticks fixed on the top of a pole, is surrounded by people at the Doorie Hill on January 11, 2018 in Burghead, Scotland. People welcome in the New Year with the fire ceremony which has ancient roots dating back to the 1750s, when the Julian calendar was reformed in Britain. It is believed to bring good luck for the coming year. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A woman made-up with the technique of Body Paint seen during the 2nd Spanish tattoo artists Convention of the Only Tattoo Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain on March 17, 2018. (Photo by Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

This photo released by the Cleveland Animal Protective League shows Lurleen, the nursing mother and Noland the puppy snuggling up Wednesday, June 19, 2013, in Cleveland. Lurleen already is caring for four newborn kittens and now is nursing the orphaned week-old pit bull puppy in Cleveland. (Photo by AP Photo/Cleveland Animal Protective League)

Bienne Terita of Australia fends of Heather Cowell of Great Britain during the 2024 Perth SVNS women's match between Australia and Great Britain at HBF Park on January 26, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Cai Xuning, 36, takes care of pet rabbits at PET ZONE pet store on January 17, 2023 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Pet rabbit breeder and PET ZONE store owner Cai Xuning is seeing an increase in interest in pet rabbits, as China prepares to welcome the Spring Festival on January 22, ushering in the Year of the Rabbit. (Photo by Getty Images)

Locals dress up as Mazcaras to celebrate Entroido on February 21, 2023 in A Xironda, Spain. Entroido is an ancient rural carnival celebrated in Galicia during the previous days of Ash Wednesday. Each town has its traditional characters and costumes. In the small village of A Xironda, locals dress up as Mazcaras with their characteristic masks, cowbells at the waist and whips, and then run through the streets. (Photo by Brais Seara Fernandez/Getty Images)