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)

People wearing costumes walk during Halloween in Sierra Madre, California, U.S., October 31, 2017. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

“Just hanging out”. As full autumn hits the valley of Hallingdal in Norway, this bear chills out in a tree which seems to barely cover its weight. Photo location: Flå, Hallingdal, Norway. (Photo and caption by Jorgen Tharaldsen/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Scott Linstead is an internationally published, freelance wildlife photographer/writer. His clients include Natural History Magazine, Hewlett Packard, Ranger Rick Magazine and a number of wildlife publications in North America and Europe. Scott's column on the techniques of bird photography appears in every issue of Outdoor Photography Canada”.

Photo: A veiled chameleon extends its tongue to catch a cricket. Canadian wildlife photographer Scott Linstead, formerly an aerospace engineer and high school teacher, uses a device called Phototrap “to not only photograph the elusive, but also the unimaginably quick”. (Photo by Scott Linstead)

Girls prepare to take part in a mermaid lesson in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 28, 2017. Women in Brazil are not unique in their affinity for mermaiding. Classes are held as far away as Texas and some folks wonder if mermaiding will be the next fitness craze. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

The symbol for “One Orlando” is spelled out at a makeshift memorial at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, Fla., Saturday, June 18, 2016. Nearby, visitors lit candles and prayed at a larger memorial, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, to mourn the victims of the Pulse massacre. (Photo by Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP Photo)

Alexia Putellas of FC Barcelona celebrates victory with fans following the UEFA Women's Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou on March 30, 2022 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Women stand on the “martyrs' bridge” spanning the Tigris River in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, February 24, 2023. (Photo by Jerome Delay/AP Photo)