“Centuries ago, Inuit hunted the bowhead whale. At that time, whale hunting undoubtedly was part of a complex and very important ritual, if only because of the size of the catch. The position that the ancestors of today's Inuit occupied in the living world involved a relationship with the spirit that inhabited each animal but also their species”. (Photo by Robert Frechette/2014 Sony World Photography Awards)

Among the fish populations that could be harmed by the Xayaburi dam in Laos is the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish, considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the world’s largest freshwater fish. The fish, which grows to 650 pounds and about 10 feet long, is only found in the Mekong River. It is migratory, moving between downstream habitats in Cambodia upstream to northern Thailand and Laos each year to spawn. Some experts fear the Xayaburi dam could block the migration and drive the giant catfish to extinction. (Photo by Courtesy of Zeb Hogan/University of Nevada, Reno)

Turkish National athlete Sahika Ercumen persists in her preparations for the dive along the shores of Karamagara Bay as she will dive to break the 105-meter world record in the variable weight category without fins on the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in Hatay, Turkiye on October 15, 2023. The national athlete is determined to exceed the 105-meter world record currently held by Serbian diver Lena Balta in the variable weight category without fins. (Photo by Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Merfolk gather at MerMania 2017, the world's largest gathering of amateur and professional mermaids and mermen in North Carloina, USA on January 21, 2017. (Photo by Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The world-famous sprinter Usain Bolt, 30, took a break from the track to celebrate Carnival as revellers doused each other with paint in Trinidad and Tobago on February 26, 2017. (Photo by David Wears/Splash News and Pictures)

A girl looks around displays at the world premiere of “Meet Vincent van Gogh” exhibition in Beijing, China, June 15, 2016. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Refugees disembark and make their way to a camp at a hotel touted as the world's most northerly ski resort in Riksgransen, Sweden, December 15, 2015. (Photo by Ints Kalnins/Reuters)