Overall winner: The Art of Flight by Alwin Hardenbol (University of Eastern Finland). A panning shot of a Dalmatian pelican in flight. The picture was taken on Lake Kerkini in Greece. (Photo by Alwin Hardenbol/2020 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)

In a photo taken on June 5, 2017 a traffic security officer stands on duty at an intersection in Pyongyang. Officially known as traffic security officers but universally referred to as traffic ladies, they are chosen for their looks in a society that remains traditionalist in many respects. They must leave the role if they marry, and have a finite shelf-life, with compulsory retirement looming at just 26. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

A minaret, that was damaged during fighting between Islamic State jihadists and government forces, is seen in Ben Guerdane, near the Libyan border, Tunisia April 10, 2016. After a U.S. air strike killed a Tunisian jihadist commander in western Libya in late February, dozens of Islamic State fighters sneaked across the border into Tunisia and attacked an army barracks and police bases in the town of Ben Guerdane. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

Long-tailed mayflies (Palingenia longicauda) mate on the surface of the Tisza river near Tiszakurt, Hungary, June 14, 2016. Millions of these short-lived mayflies engage in a frantic rush to mate and reproduce before they perish in just a few hours during “Tiszaviragzas” or Tisza blooming season from late spring to early summer every year. (Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Reuters)

These horses are pictured in the Khentii province in eastern Mongolia during the Winter Horse Festival – where skillful horsemen gather to challenge the strength of their horses and show off their riding skills. Pictures were taken by Batzaya Choijiljav, a travel company director from Mongolia. Here: The fur of a horse ices up in the –40 cold of Mongolia. (Photo by Batzaya Choijiljav/Caters News)

America may be a nation obsessed with automobiles, but today the bicycle is giving the car a run for its money. And while New York is just one of many cities that is implementing new bikefriendly policies, the local cyclist population stands out as one of the most diverse, inventive, and stylish in the world.

Backdropped by a night time view of the Earth and the starry sky, the Space Shuttle Endeavour is seen docked to the International Space Station on May 28, 2011. (Photo by Reuters/NASA)