A Spanish national police officer uses his club to hit a protester during a demonstration called the Catalan pro-independence left youth group “Arran” on October 19, 2019 in Barcelona, a day after nearly 200 people were hurt in another night of violent clashes in Catalonia. The deterioration came on the fifth consecutive day of protests in the Catalan capital and elsewhere over a Spanish court's jailing of nine separatist leaders on sedition charges over a failed independence bid two years ago. (Photo by Josep Lago/AFP Photo)

African ostrichs are seen during sunny autumn day in the largest ostrich farm “Nornieki” in Snepele, Latvia, 18 October 2021. (Photo by Toms Kalnins/EPA/EFE)

Peruvian surfer Domingo Pianezzi rides a wave with his alpaca Pisco at San Bartolo beach in Lima March 16, 2010. Pianezzi has spent a decade training dogs to ride the nose of his board when he catches waves, and now he is the first to do so with an alpaca. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

“Honorable Mention”. An Indian rhinoceros, far from home and stuck inside with late-winter blues at the Toronto zoo. Photo location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo and caption by Stephen De Lisle/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Aline, along with other rangers and park staff visit the gorilla's in the parks Mikeno sector, where the majority of the gorilla families live in Virunga National Park. Therefore there has been a surge of poaching and violence in the area. For the first time, women have taken up the most dangerous job in wildlife, becoming para-military rangers at the Virunga National Park in DR Congo. (Photo by Monique Jaques)

Kea are the only true alpine parrots in the world and thrive as cunning opportunists in the freezing conditions of the Southern Alps. Kea are thought to have developed their wide array of food-finding strategies during the last great ice age, where they learned to adapt using their unusual powers of curiosity. (Photo by Tom Walker/BBC Pictures/The Guardian)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

A male green anole lizard flares his throat fan in a backyard in Cary, North Carolina on April 27, 2021. This pink section is actually a thin flap of skin that hangs down below the green anole's throat. Anoles are renowned for their displays in which they do pushups, bob their heads up and down, and unfurl their colorful dewlaps. The male anole uses it for two primary purposes: to protect his territory and attract a mate. (Photo by Bob Karp/ZUMA Press Wire/Alamy Live News)