These beautiful photos capture the tender moments between two young boys who share a unique bond with animals. Elena Shumilova, from Andreapol, Russia, began taking pictures of her sons Yaroslav and Vanya in early 2012 when she received her first professional camera. The pair were immediately accepted by the animals from a young age and their incredible bond continues to strengthen as they get older. Elena, 32, was able to capture images her boys playing with such animals as rabbits, dogs, cats and ducks as they become totally immersed in their communication with their furry friends. (Photo by Elena Shumilova)

Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

Gorillas sit next to a ruler during a photocall for the annual weigh-in at London Zoo in London, Britain August 24, 2017. During the weigh-in, animals across the zoo have their vital statistics recorded including their height and weight and the information is then shared with zoos across the world to help zookeepers compare important information on thousands of endangered species. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

In this February 22, 2021, file photo, climate activist Disha Ravi, 22, travels in a car as she is taken to a court in New Delhi, India. To her friends, Ravi, was most concerned about her future in a world where temperatures are rising. But her life changed last month as she became a household name in the country, dominating news coverage after police charged her with sedition, a colonial-era law which carries a sentence up to life. Her alleged crime: sharing an online document to help amplify months-long farmer protests in India on Twitter. She was released after 10 days in custody. (Photo by Dinesh Joshi/AP Photo/File)

Opposites can attract and Anzac a doe-eyed baby kangaroo has become best friends with Peggy, a tiny squint-eyed wombat. Their unlikely union developed after the pair - both orphans - shared a pouch at the Wildlife Kilmore Rescue Centre in Victoria, Australia. At just over five months old, Anzac was brought to the centre after being rescued in the Macedon Ranges. The joey is in the mother kangaroo's pouch for about eight months, depending on the species, but Anzac was abandoned a few months before he was ready to be free.

241543903 (a.k.a “Heads in Freezers”) is a numerical keyword associated with a photo meme that involves people taking pictures with their heads in the freezer & sharing them online. By tagging a series of image files with a cryptic number, a high level of search engine optimization can be easily achieved. As a result, typing “241543903” into image search engines like Google Images successfully yields pages after pages of pictures showing people’s heads in freezers.
In 2009, David Horvitz started the “Heads in Freezers” meme. Participants took photos of their heads in freezers, tagged them with “241543903” and uploaded them to social media sites like Tumblr.

“Hello! My name is Kindra, and photography, over the last six months has become a happily all-consuming activity for me. Through my photos and creation of them, I escape into another world entirely, and then share that world with others. It brings me unending amounts of joy, and I never plan to stop!”. – Kindra Nikole

Photo: “Where the Summer Grass Leads”. (Photo by Kindra Nikole)