These photographs of hundreds of ducks following their leader down a river are truly mesmerizing. Rafeur Rahman of Bangladesh climbed a high bridge and saw hundreds of ducks apparently playing a game of follow the leader. More than 500 ducks live on the river, where the mosses and snails provide the perfect habitat. Here: Ducks in the river Baral in Bangladesh. (Photo by Rafeur Rahman/Caters News Agency)

Emperor penguins gathered together to keep their chicks warm in these pictures. Marine scientist Frederique Oliver snapped the protective parents in Antarctica as they huddled against the huge winds.The adorable birds have to battle temperatures on -20 degrees Celsius as well as winds of up to 40 knots on the ice. (Photo by Frederique Oliver/Caters News)

“Aurora Hunters”. Photographers taking part in a photography tour on the Lofoten Islands in Norway, pull over on the side of the road to take a photo of their first ever Aurora Borealis after spotting it from their tour bus. Photo location: Rystad, Lofoten Islands, Norway. (Photo and caption by Mark Gee/National Geographic Photo Contest)

David Yeo’s photography places naturally small species alongside animals that have been selectively bred to be tiny and cute. Here: “The most difficult aspect of this shoot was to get each African pygmy dormouse – also known as micro squirrels – on to a separate camera. Once in place, they needed to remain still long enough to get them both in the frame and looking at me. Often solitary, they naturally wanted to move away”. (Photo by David Yeo/Leica Studio Mayfair/The Guardian)

An Afghan Army soldier secures the hill overlooking the Kart-e Sakhi mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, March 20, 2013. Thousands of Afghans will celebrate Nowruz on Thursday, March 21, 2013 to mark the first day of spring and the beginning of the year on the Iranian calendar. (Photo by Ahmad Jamshid/AP Photo)

Armed with only paper, graphite and coloured pencils – plus his vivid imagination – the artist creates remarkable drawings that leap from the page when photographed. The 32-year-old, from Alkmaar in Holland, began experimenting with anamorphic 3D drawing five years ago. Photo: Ramon Bruin’s 3D illustration of two twins drawing each other. (Photo by Ramon Bruin/Medavia)

Two Toyotas have been turned into cute Pokemons – Pikachu and Oshawott by toy maker Tamara Tomy. Unfortunately they will never leave the exhibition because nobody would give them a road license.

“Touring the Koko-en Gardens adjacent to the Himeji castle was an unexpected highlight of our visit”, wrote Jeff Solar, 64, of Silver Spring, Md., about his trip to Japan. “The fall colors were outstanding and the gardens were both amazing and a bargain (just a few Yen added to the cost of the Himeji Castle admission)”. (Photo by Jeff Solar/2017 Washington Post Travel Photo Contest)