A woman dressed as the Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy walks her dog dressed as the Cowardly Lion as they attend the annual Congressional Dog Costume Parade on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP Photo)

Suadar Oyunbold, age 5 runs from a Lion Dancer in Dublin City Farm at St Anne’s Park on January 9, 2023 to mark the launch of the programme for Dublin Lunar New Year which runs from 21-29 January. (Photo by Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times)

These heart-warming photograph show an incredible bond between a wild lioness and the men fighting to save her species. The picture show Sirga – a 110lb lioness – and her adopted pride Valentin Gruener (not pictured) and Mikkel Legarth. Incredibly she treats the two men just like she would other lions and with their help she can now hunt for prey on her own. As a cub she was driven out from a pride and rescued by German and Danish duo Valentin and Mikkel who could not stand by and watch her die. She is now a beacon for hoped success of the Modisa Wildlife Project, founded in Botswana, Africa, by Valentin and Mikkel with the hope of saving the lion population. (Photo by Caters News)

These breath-taking photographs reveal the everyday lives of animals living in the wild. The incredible images were taken by wildlife photographer Wim van dan Heever, from Pretoria, South Africa, during trips to locations including Japan, Botswana and Svalbard. The 43-year-old has been photographing wildlife since he was a young boy and turned his passion for animals into a career and set up ODP Safaris. He has travelled across the globe to photograph wild animals – from lions and tigers, to elephants, dolphins and eagles – as they hunt, give birth and graze in their natural habitats. Here: Lions submerged in water. (Photo by Wim van den Heever/Caters News)

This year’s overall winner and winner of the coast and marine category is George Stoyle with his image “Hitchhikers” of a Lion’s mane jellyfish, photographed at St Kilda, off the Island of Hirta, Scotland. (Photo by George Stoyle/British Wildlife Photography Awards 2016)

Sea lion “Jay” paints a Chinese character reading “the Serpent” at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on January 3, 2013. The event, marking the forthcoming Chinese lunar calender year of the snake was held as part of a New Year's attraction. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP Photo)

A lioness bares its teeth inside an enclosure after a raid at a zoo-like house on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand Monday, June 10, 2013. Thai police and forestry officials searched and seized a number of imported and endangered animals including 14 lions from Africa and arrested the house's owner. (Photo by Apichart Weerawong/AP Photo)

Nessie, a California sea lion pup recently born at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, near Stirling, UK. Picture date: Thursday July 11, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)