A young baboon receives an earful from an adult as another primate yanks its tail at Kruger National Park, South Africa in the first decade of July 2024. (Photo by John Mullineux/Solent News)

Is it a leaf? Is it tree bark? No, it’s the Satanic leaf-tailed gecko. Cleverly disguised as a rotting leaf, Madagascar’s camouflage king has red eyes, pointy horns and a taste for night hunting: it’s nature’s most devilish deceiver. The twisted body and veiny skin echo the detail of a dry leaf, which ensures the gecko blends in with its forest home. The mottled tail appears to have sections missing, as though it has withered over time. This mini-monster epitomises survival of the fittest, having adapted gradually to become today’s extraordinary leaf impersonator. (Photo by Thomas Marent/ARDEA)

A person looks up at the Aurora Australis in Judbury in the Huon Valley, Tasmania on April 24, 2023. (Photo by Toby Schrapel freelance photography/The Guardian)

Women tear the shirt off a man during “Huranga”, a game played between men and women a day after Holi, at Dauji temple near Mathura, March 14, 2017. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Sharafkhaneh port and lake Urmia. Masoud Ghadiri (Iran). The summer Milky Way is very prominent in this photo. On the galaxy zone, Saturn is located besides the Lagoon nebula. On the right of the horizon, you can see the extreme light pollution of Urmia, which is caused by ever-increasing city development. (Photo by Masoud Ghadiri/National Maritime Museum)

Women practice “katte samu”, a rural traditional self-defence martial art during a workshop organised by the The Department of Language, Art and Culture of Telangana state for the upcoming International Women Day in Hyderabad, on March 6, 2020. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)

An aerial view of the figure of a Catrina skull made with 18,000 Cempasuchil flowers (Mexican marigold) is on display at the Church of Santa Prisca as part of Day of the Dead celebrations, in Taxco, Mexico on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Indian Air Force personnel parade during the 85th Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon Air Force base in Ghaziabad on October 8, 2017. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)