“Eye of a toad”. Animal Portraits, Łukasz Bożycki, Poland. Early spring sees a pond near Łukasz’s home city of Warsaw, Poland, full of mating frogs and a few toads. On this March day, Łukasz shared the pond with them for an evening, sitting in the icy water in his chest-high waders, keeping as still as possible, despite the numbing cold, so that the amphibians could get used to him. “I wanted to find a fresh way of portraying the amphibians”, he says, “at water level”. Using a telephoto lens, he focused on one lone toad and waited for the sun to dip almost below the horizon before pressing the shutter, using flash to bring out the details in the shadow. His prize was “the glorious pool of sunset colour” and fiery glow of the toad’s eye. Nikon D80 + 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens + extension tube; 1/125 sec at f9 (-2.3 e/v); ISO 100; built-in flash. (Photo by Łukasz Bożycki)

One month-old endangered Bornean Orang Utan sleeps on his mother named Miri on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, in Singapore. The Singapore Zoo is renowned for its flagship animal, the Orang Utan, and exhibits both the endangered Bornean and critically endangered Sumatran sub-species in a social setting. It is also known for its efforts in promoting and educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation through its educational programs and breeding of these endangered species. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

This diver almost got sucked into the mouth of a massive whale shark as it feeds on plankton. But far from staring into the jaws of death – the shark, which are the sea's largest fish, is actually vegetarian. The relieved diver escaped from the encounter unscathed and continued to enjoy the presence of the incredibly docile animals. The stunning photograph, by Mauricio Handler, was taken during a feeding session where more than 600 of the huge creatures gathered to feed on tuna spawn. (Photo by Mauricio Handler/Daily Mail/Solent)

Spanish bullfighter Manuel Jesus “El Cid” is seen through a small window of a door as he performs a pass to a heifer during a “tentadero” (a small bullfight to check the bravery of calves and heifers which are not killed) during the first International Biennial of bullfighting at Reservatauro Ronda cattle ranch in Ronda, near Malaga February 17, 2013. Spain's parliament voted last Tuesday to consider protecting bullfighting as a national pastime, angering animal rights campaigners and politicians in two regions where the sport is banned. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

An actress dressed as Black Cat poses for a photo at the London Super Comic Convention at the ExCeL Centre on February 23, 2013 in London, England. Enthusiasts at the Comic Convention are encouraged to wear a costume of their favourite comic character and flock to the ExCeL to gather all the latest news in the world of comics, manga, anime, film, cosplay, games and cult fiction. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield)

A macro view of an ant taking a sip from a water droplet on the edge of a flower in Obihiro, Japan. Animal-Lover Miki Asai has gone a step beyond feeding bread to the ducks – by syringe-feeding water to tiny ants. The office worker from Obihiro City, Japan, squirts droplets near the tiny insects and then uses a macro lens to capture quenching their thirst. The amateur photographer started capturing these images near her house in July 2013 after spotting an ant struggling in the rain. (Photo by Miki Asai/Barcroft Media)

These portraits reveal the incredibly humanlike expressions of a variety of apes.Through piercing eyes and finite facial details, the intimate photographs show the animals looking angry, sad, delighted and pensive. They are the works of Manuela Kulpa – an IT consultant and keen photographer from near Cologne, Germany – who shot the apes predominantly at zoos across Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands. Here: Bonobo, Azibo. (Photo by Manuela Kulpa/Caters News)

Summer Zhai and Vicky He, dressed as characters from the anime "Love Live!", rest on stairs during day two of New York Comic Con in Manhattan, New York, October 9, 2015. The event draws thousands of costumed fans, panels of pop culture luminaries and features a sprawling floor of vendors in a space equivalent to more than three football fields at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center on Manhattan's West side. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)