Igor Shpilenok works in the reserve at Kamchatka, Russia. Igor is a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and a winner of the 2006 BBC Wildlife Photographer Competition. Igor’s work has been published in numerous international and Russian magazines, including Smithsonian, National Wildlife, Geo, and BBC Wildlife.

“How does a bear behave when encounter a human? In most cases he runs away. But before running he almost always would rise to stand on his rear feet. And this behavior does not indicate the attack, as many people think...” – Igor Shpilenok. (Photo by Igor Shpilenok via Wildlife Photo Russia)

An Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) is perched on the head of a frog hanging from a tree branch on March 15, 2017 in Padang, Indonesia. (Photo by Riau Images/Barcroft Images)

A herd of elephants cross a road that passes through the flooded Kaziranga National Park in the northeastern state of Assam, India, July 12, 2017. (Photo by Anuwar Hazarika/Reuters)

Palestinians flee from their neighbourhood in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, during the ongoing Israeli bombardment, Saturday, December 2, 2023. (Photo by Fatima Shbair/AP Photo)

This aerial photograph shows a stork with two chicks on a nest installed on a high voltage line mast in Bouee, western France, on June 3, 2025. (Photo by Loïc Venance/AFP Photo)

In this Monday, October 5, 2015 photo, a thick blanket of early morning fog partially shrouds the skyscrapers of the Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers districts of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai's rapid transformation from a desert outpost into one of the world's most architecturally stunning cities is mapped out in the Marina. Where just 15 years ago there was empty, flat land, today a bustling neighborhood thrives centered around a canal and an impressive skyline that pierces through the clouds. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)