It is said that Torajans are people who “live to die”. For this Indonesian ethnic group, funerals are such extravagant events that they sometimes attract tourists. Families can postpone burials years (and the deceased are considered sick and hosted at home until the funeral) until the family can raise enough money and gather as many relatives as possible. And then it’s a jubilant multiday social event with a parade, dances and animal sacrifices. Agung Parameswara photographed these funerary practices when he traveled to South Sulawesi province, where the Torajans live. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/The Washington Post)

Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

Women wear the traditional costume of the Alto Tio Diego carnival during the Women's Afro-Mestizo Carnival of Alto Tio Diego on February 11, 2024 in Veracruz, Mexico. Alto Tio Diego is a small town near the State capital Xalapa where every year inhabitants celebrate their traditional carnival. Women of the town demanded a special day for them to parade and few years ago, they started to do it by walking through the streets wearing traditional costumes and masks (mostly of animals) but the attires have evolved to more modern characters. (Photo by Hector AD Quintanar/Getty Images)

The carcass of a fattened pig, winner of the “holy pig” contest, is attached to a metal frame during a sacrificial ceremony in Sanxia district, in New Taipei City, Taiwan February 1, 2017. The winner of Taiwan's “holy pig” ceremony on Thursday defended the lunar new year tradition against critics who argue the fattened animals are raised under cruel conditions. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Stones collected and categorised by shape (fish) are seen at the home workshop of Luigi Lineri in Zevio, near Verona, Italy, June 10, 2016. Luigi Lineri's home workshop is covered in stones – tens of thousands of them. They resemble animal heads, human faces and other forms, and the artist and poet believes may have been shaped by prehistoric humans. (Photo by Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)

A woman holds a hedgehog at the Harry hedgehog cafe in Tokyo, Japan, April 5, 2016. In a new animal-themed cafe, 20 to 30 hedgehogs of different breeds scrabble and snooze in glass tanks in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district. Customers have been queuing to play with the prickly mammals, which have long been sold in Japan as pets. The cafe's name Harry alludes to the Japanese word for hedgehog, harinezumi. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A breeder poses with fruits and specially made high-fibre bread, for 36-year-old giant panda Jia Jia, at the Hong Kong Ocean Park, China June 30, 2015. Jia Jia, the oldest giant panda living in captivity, is set to challenge the world record for the animals' longevity, with her age said to put her on par with a human centenarian. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

A belly dancer dances on the bar at Georgian restaurant Nanuchka in Tel Aviv, Israel July 15, 2015. Nana Shrier, owner of Nanuchka, shocked Israel's culinary world when she removed all animal-based products from the menu. Nanuchka is part of a growing trend that has transformed Israel's financial center into a haven for meatless cuisine. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)