A two-week-old hoglet finds an unusual spot to sit at the Happy Hedgehogs rescue centre in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire in the second decade of September 2023. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

Scientists trekking for days to the undisputed furthest north land point on the planet, in October 2024 were greeted by an unexpected welcoming party: a stoat, whom they named Randall. The team were heading to Kaffeklubben Island, also known as Inuit Qeqertaat, off the northern tip of Greenland, about 440 miles from the North Pole, when Randall emerged from a cairn of rocks, showing no fear as he went to investigate them. (Photo by Jeff Kerby/Magnus News)

Performers from the Joles ethnic group in Gambia prepare to perform with sharp blades which they say will demonstrate the magic powers of a spiritual water, that will make them immune to the cuts, during a campaign rally by incumbent President Yahya Jammeh, leader of the APRC (The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction) in Bikama on November 24, 2016. As electoral favorite Jammeh seeks his fifth term in power, a two-week campaign period will come to an end next week ahead of the December 1st presidential election with political leaders canvassing in rural areas. (Photo by Marco Longari/AFP Photo)

Close Encounter of the Insect Kind: “Check out the awesome face on this praying mantis. I can't get over the mouth, it's like something from a science fiction movie. Of all photographic styles macro is definitely my favorite. I am constantly amazed, in every photo that I take, by the intricate level of detail that exists on even the smallest of creatures. It's a stark reminder that a very complex and infinitely beautiful world exists just beyond our human-sized level of perception. Photo taken in Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia” – Andrew Young. (Photo by Andrew Young/National Geographic Photo Contest via The Atlantic)

A cosplayer dressed as the actress Lucy Liu, as depicted in the animated series Futurama, poses for a photo at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, U.S., July 23, 2022. (Photo by Bing Guan/Reuters)

A man stands in front of a display with an artificial coral inside the Davos Congress Center at the eve of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, January 15, 2023. The site specific data sculpture by media artist Refik Anadol based on approximately one billion coral images processed by machine learning classification models. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from Jan. 16 until Jan. 20, 2023. (Photo by Markus Schreiber/AP Photo)

The opening of sculptor Carole Feuerman solo outdoor public art show, Sea Idylls, on Park Avenue in NYC on April 27, 2023. The hyperrealistic sculptures in conjunction with Les Galeries Bartoux and Patrons of Park Avenue line the median. (Photo by Milo Hess/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Loreen from Sweden performs after winning the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, Britain on May 14, 2023. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)