Tony North; First place, Breathing Spaces; Overall Winner; Blue Tajinaste, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. “Echium thyrsiflorum is endemic to the mountains of La Palma island – from high up, there was a magnificent view of both the caldera below, and the stars above. The Unesco La Palma biosphere reserve encompasses the entire island, with the Caldera de Taburiente containing mountains with a highest peak of 2,426 metres – the Roque de los Muchachos”. (Photo by Tony North/IGPOTY)

A chained male monkey in a costume and wearing a toy mask performs at a street in Depok, West Java, Indonesia, 30 September 2021. A performing monkey in a street, known as “Topeng Monyet” (lit. Monkey Mask), is a popular form of cheap entertainment in Indonesia, especially on the island of Java. (Photo by Adi Weda/EPA/EFE)

A rescued red fox rests under a closet at “Pawsitive Beginnings” fox rescue sanctuary in Key Largo, Florida, USA on August 1, 2023. Pawsitive Beginnings is a nonprofit group that works closely with organizations in parts of the USA where fur farming takes place to find permanent placement for foxes when needed. According to Pawsitive Beginnings, about 300 fur farms operate in the United States and there are very few federal laws to regulate the treatment of these animals born in captivity, raised for one year, and then killed for their coats. (Photo by Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA/EFE)

Flamingoes in Laguna Colorada, Altiplano, Bolivia, South America in 2018. (Photo by Oksana Belikova/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Early morning paddle boarder enjoys late days of summer on Trent Severn Waterway in Rosedale, Ont., Thursday, September 3, 2020. (Photo by Canadian Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Buildings in Lujiazui financial district are seen shrouded in fog amid an orange alert for heavy fog in Shanghai, China on January 31, 2024. (Photo by Xihao Jiang/Reuters)

Aerial view huge cliff rockfall at East Cliff at West Bay in Dorset, UK which happened overnight and has blocked the beach below on December 30, 2024. Golfers can be seen playing on the 15th green at Bridport & West Dorset Golf Club which is next to the latest landslip. The cliff has had frequent rockfalls in the past year which forced Dorset Council at the beginning of 2024 to close the South West Coast Path which runs along the top of the cliff due to safety concerns. (Photo by Graham Hunt/BNPS)

A gray heron (Ardea cinerea) that fished a common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Geneva, Switzerland, 21 April 2019. (Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)