Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)

Sandrine Kerfante has had a fascination with “doubles” ever since meeting her mother’s twin as a child. In 2012, this lifelong captivation inspired her to create a blog called twin-niwt, which celebrates photographs of doubles in all their forms. “I’m fascinated by the idea of the duo, repetition, symmetry, reflection, mirror games and all the symbolism associated with it”, she says. “I think it’s a topic often present in photography, more or less consciously”. (Photo by Sandrine Kerfante/The Guardian)

Hailey Hanestad thinks nothing about nuzzling up to the animal, called Wiley, and even dozes off with him on her bed. Wiley has been a treasured member of the family since being rescued by Hailey's dad, Rick, three years ago. Today he's thought to be just one of two coyotes in the US that have become domesticated after being born in the wild. Photo: Coyote Wiley sniffs Hailey, 8, at their home. (Photo by Barcroft Media)

When Roberto Perez (also known as Rob The Original) gives you a haircut, it’s probably not going to be just a haircut. This San-Antonio-based artist and hair stylist creates amazing works of art using nothing but his clients’ scalp and hair as his canvas. Perez can create just about anything he or his clients can think of – from a photo-realistic portrait or illustration to full-head paintings or graphic designs.

Some of the most powerful narratives of the past decade have been produced by a forward-thinking generation of women photojournalists as different as the places and the subjects they have covered. National Geographic's “Women of Vision” exhibit features the work of 11 photographers and is on display at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta until January 3, 2016. Here: Nujood Ali stunned the world in 2008 by obtaining a divorce at age 10 in Yemen, striking a blow against forced marriage. (Photo by Stephanie Sinclair/National Geographic)

The 100-metre (300-foot), sword-wielding statue of “The Motherland” is seen in the National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War in Kiev March 17, 2014. On a blustery day on the banks of the Dnieper, the statue of “The Motherland”, a Soviet hammer and sickle on her shield, towered overhead, a reminder of the common cause Ukrainians and Russians died for side by side in their millions in World War Two and which Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks Ukraine has betrayed by turning to “fascism” and the West. (Photo by Konstantin Grishin/Reuters)

A creative Dad brings family-favourite cartoon characters to life by putting them into hilarious situations. You would be forgiven for thinking that the following images are created using Photoshop – but complete with real fire and coffee splashes, Mitchel Wuís images are all shot in real-time. Using plastic toy characters from family-favourite films such as Toy Story, Star Wars, ET and The Muppets, the California-based photographer puts the plastic characters into surreal situations. (Photo by Mitchel Wu/Barcroft Images)

A woman fancy dressed as Catrina takes part in the “Catrinas Parade” along Reforma Avenue, in Mexico City on October 26, 2019. Mexicans get ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead highlighting the character of La Catrina which was created by cartoonist Jose Guadalupe Posada, famous for his drawings of typical local, folkloric scenes, socio-political criticism and for his illustrations of “skeletons” or skulls, including La Catrina. (Photo by Claudio Cruz/AFP Photo)