A Southwest Airlines jet takes off from Reagan National Airport with a thunderhead to the east on June 20, 2017 in Alexandria, VA. (Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
Global wildlife populations will decline by 67% by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to reduce human impact on species and ecosystems, warns the biennial Living Planet Index report from WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and ZSL (Zoological Society of London). From elephants to eels, here are some of the wildlife populations most affected by human activity. Here: The maned wolf is among the large mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado that are threatened by the increasing conversion of grasslands into farmland for grazing and growing crops. (Photo by Ben Cranke/Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo)
“Hippo Chase”. As we approached the camp the Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana our boat passed by a hippo resting in the water. I turned around to look back at the boat's wake and saw the hippo charging after us! The hippo must've been tired from an all-nighter because he was angry. He rose way up out of the water three times trying to chase our boat! He was coming at us with such force that he created a wake of his own. Photo location: Selinda Reserve of northern Botswana. (Photo and caption by Curtis Simmons/National Geographic Photo Contest)
Visitors run away as waves caused by a tidal bore surge past a barrier on the banks of Qiantang River, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province August 13, 2014. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)
Rihanna holds the pregnant belly of Spc. Ariel Evans during an event promoting her Rogue Man cologne at Ft. Belvoir Exchange on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 in Ft. Belvoir, Va. (Photo by Kevin Wolf/AP Photo)
A Puffin jumps into its burrow with a mouthful of sea eels to feed its chick on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire in Wales, Britain June 21, 2016. (Photo by Rebecca Naden/Reuters)
A dog groomer prepares a model dog during the 2nd Annual Shenzhen International Pet Exhibition, July 14, 2016, in Shenzhen, China. The pet exhibition runs from July 14 - 17, 2016 at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center. (Photo by VCG/Getty Images)