A curious leopard cub toys with a camera at MalaMala Game Reserve in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. (Photo by Barcroft Media)

A golden huddle by Minqiang Lu, China. Two females and a male golden snub-nosed monkey huddle together to keep warm in the extreme cold. Threatened by forest loss and fragmentation, this endangered species is confined to central China. Restricted to living high up in the temperate forests, these monkeys – here in the Qinling mountains in Shaanxi province – feed mostly in the trees, on leaves, bark, buds and lichen. In heavy wind and snow, Minqiang walked up the mountain carrying his equipment. He stayed for half an hour in temperatures of –10C opposite the tree where the group was huddled before achieving this eye-level composition. (Photo by Minqiang Lu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Amelia Rise Donkeys, a small facility in Australia, care for a number of these beautiful animals on a daily basis. Check out these stunning images of 15-month-old Jack Johnston playing with the adorable creatures.

Tens of millions of red crabs make their way across Christmas Island, Australia on November 13, 2021 during their annual migration from the forest to the ocean, swamping roads and bridges. (Photo by Parks Australia/Animal News Agency)

Nepal's indigenous women in traditional attire gather to participate in a rally to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous People in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, August 9, 2024. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

A British woman plays a piano designed especially for people who are confined to bed. Date: 1935. (Photo by Mary Evans Picture Library/Caters News)

A girl holds her hedgehog to be blessed by a priest at the Cathedral San Bernardino de Siena during the ceremony commemorating the Feast of San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of domestic animals, in Xochimilco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico on January 17, 2024. (Photo by Raquel Cunha/Reuters)

An unexpected side-effect of the flooding in parts of Pakistan has been that millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters. Because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water has taken so long to recede, many trees have become cocooned in spiders’ webs.