In more “raccoons are getting more like us” news, a drunk raccoon was found in a liquor store in Virginia, US in the first decade of December 2025. The animal had got into the shop via some loose ceiling tiles, knocked bottles of spirits off the shelves, lapped up the contents and passed out in the toilets. Once it had sobered up, it was released back into the wild – no doubt with a crashing hangover. (Photo by AP Photo)

A tower belonging to the Abengoa solar plant at the Solucar solar park is seen in Sanlucar la Mayor, Spain on October 1, 2018. (Photo by Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters)

In this picture taken on December 13, 2017, a woman commutes on a street on a cold day in Baoding. As temperatures dipped below freezing in a northern Chinese village, a group of parka-clad women tried to stay warm as they played mahjong around a small gas stove in a grocery store. (Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP Photo)

A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask while he stands guard outside National Palace, following the outbreak of a new coronavirus in China, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 10, 2020. (Photo by Lim Huey Teng/Reuters)

Forensic investigators look at the body of a man infected with the new coronavirus who collapsed on the street and died, according to Police Captain Diego Lopez, in Quito, Ecuador, Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

Italian Moto2 rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta, Italtrans Racing Team, crashes during the race of the Motorcycling Grand Prix of Andalusia at the Jerez-Angel Nieto circuit in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, 26 July 2020. (Photo by Roman Rios/EPA/EFE)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

In this photo taken Wednesday, March 8, 2017, a hospitality staff member pose for photos near the shadow of a tall light pole near the Great Hall of the People where a plenary session of the National People's Congress is held in Beijing, China. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)