Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

Street artist Irony’s mural of a young woman on Jamaica Street in Liverpool, UK on September 22, 2019. The city has recently been transformed with bold murals painted by local artists on walls and buildings. Recognisable faces including those of the Beatles, Jürgen Klopp and Stephen Hawking. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Wire Press Association)

People gather for the second annual “Cat Beauty Festival” organized by Royal Veterinary Hospital in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq on July 2, 2025. Around 200 cats participated in the event, where the first round was determined by social media votes. The winner, a cat named “Gule Rana”, was selected by a jury. The festival aims to promote animal love and raise awareness about feline care. (Photo by Fariq Faraj Mahmood/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The British alternative rock duo Nova Twins perform on day three of the 2024 Shaky Knees music festival in Atlanta, US on May 5, 2024. (Photo by John D. Shearer/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Students take photos with a giant King Kong sculptures made out straw in the northern Thai province of Chiang Mai on April 3, 2019. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

A man wearing a mouth-nose protection to protect against the coronavirus walks past a department store window with the words “BACK TO LIFE” in Schwerin, Germany, Thursday, April 15, 2021. (Photo by Jens Buettner/dpa via AP Photo)

A Filipino devotee is carried by police officers outside the Quiapo church after she fainted during the Black Nazarene feast day in Manila, Philippines, January 9, 2020. (Photo by Willy Kurniawan/Reuters)

People perform Chinese Lion dance in Chinatown during the Chinese Lunar New Year in Lima, Peru on February 5, 2019. (Photo by Guadalupe Pardo/Reuters)