The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) was the most popular species overall based on English language Wikipedia page views. It is the world’s largest lizard, living on the islands of Komodo, Rinca and other smaller islands, and on Flores island in Indonesia. (Photo by Eric Nathan/Alamy)

The sun rises behind The Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, Merseyside on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)

More than 700 underwater images were submitted for the 2012 Annual Underwater Photography Contest, hosted by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. This year, for the first time, the University of Miami set up a “Fan Favorite” category for its underwater photo competition. Internet users could vote for their favorite among five pictures. Todd Aki's photo of a jellyfish took the prize, snaring 599 of the 1,221 votes cast. (Photo by Todd Aki)

The towers of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, which was ravaged by a fire in 2019, are reflected in a puddle ahead of the reopening ceremonies, in Paris, France, on December 4, 2024. (Photo by Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters)

Wide-angle category winner. Part of the Illusion by Marcus Blatchford (UK). Location: National Dive & Activity Centre, Chepstow, Wales. “This is the deepest inland dive centre in the UK. The dive plan was to explore the deep end, but this time I dived ‘unplugged’ (without my strobes). With the exception of this change to my camera technique, there were no planned shots I wanted to achieve – just a fun dive with ad-hoc photos along the way. Shortly after this photo was captured, in 6C water and two hours of decompression ahead of us, we turned and started the long ascent back to the surface”. (Photo by Marcus Blatchford/Underwater Photographer of the Year 2016)

Giraffes doing the splits to get a drink of water from the watering hole at the Zimanga Private Game Reserve in South Africa on March 31, 2022. (Photo by Hendri Venter/Animal News Agency)

A woman, covered in mud, dances during the traditional “Bloco da Lama” or “Mud Block” carnival party, in Paraty, Brazil, Saturday, February 14, 2015. Revelers in the seaside colonial town threw themselves into deposits of black, mineral-rich slime, emerging covered head-to-toe in the sludge. Bikinis and trunks disappeared beneath the mud, which highlights both gym-pumped pectorals and beer-fed guts. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

“The Dragon and The Hopper”. Eyrean earless dragon (Tympanocryptis tetraporophora) standing tall on a very hot rock in western Queensland. For a short time it was joined by a hopper, who jumped off before becoming lunch. (Photo by Harrison Warne/Nature Conservancy Australia 2021 Photo Contest)