An octopus is filmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer and its robotic sub. (Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

Rolando Pujol Rodriguez photographed the Cuban raft exodus in 1994, and twenty years later Enrique de la Osa took portraits of some of the people who made it to the United States, in this story which combines archive and present day images. Here: People put the finishing touches to a makeshift boat on a rooftop before lowering it onto a truck and launching it into the Straits of Florida towards the U.S., on the last day of the 1994 Cuban raft exodus in Havana, in this September 13, 1994 file photo. (Photo by Rolando Pujol Rodriguez/Reuters)

A fireworks display decorates the night sky to celebrate the New Year, as crowds of people look on, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, early Friday, January 1, 2021. (Photo by Jon Chol Jin/AP Photo)

Norway’s Daniel Andre Tande falls to the ground during the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Flying Hill Individual competition in Planica on March 25, 2021. (Photo by Jure Makovec/AFP Photo)

A girl peers from between light decorations at a Christmas fair which opened ahead of the holiday season in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, November 25, 2022. Municipal authorities in the Romanian capital, quoted by local media, stated that holiday season city light decoration levels will remain at last year's level and use energy saving solutions. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Scooby performs at halftime of the game between the TCU Horned Frogs and Texas Tech Red Raiders at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on January 30, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)