Natural world and wildlife shortlist. Lop Buri in Thailand is home to hundreds of macaques, which local residents consider to be disciples of the Hindu god Hanuman. While some people love them, others fear or even hate them. Despite the inconvenience they often cause, the macaques are generally respected and considered sacred. (Photo by Joan de la Malla/Sony World Photography Awards)

Dozens of crocodiles are seen in an inactive farm in the Jordan Valley near the Israeli Petzael settlement in the West Bank on January 18, 2021. Hundreds of crocodiles are stranded in a farm after an Israeli businessmen lost his business as Israel passed a law in 2012 defining the crocodile as a protected animal, and banning raising the animals for sale as meat or merchandise. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

American stand-up comedian and actress Whitney Cummings fools around with photographers after she, Griffin Johnson, and Josh Richards have dinner together at Craig's in West Hollywood, CA. on April 6, 2021. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

A vendor prepares her stall as she waits for customer at a street market in Taunggyi, Myanmar's northeast Shan Sate on November 13, 2024. (Photo by Sai Aung Main/AFP Photo)

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano spews vulcanic materials during an eruption as seen from Pululera village in East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, on April 27, 2025. (Photo by The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG)/Handout via Reuters)

“Ring Girls” attend the undercard bouts before Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine faces Daniel Dubois of Great Britain in their undisputed heavyweight title bout at the Wembley Stadium in London, Great Britain, 19 July 2025. It is the second meeting between the WBA (Super), WBO and WBC champion Usyk and IBF title-holder Dubois following their fight in 2023 which Usyk won. (Photo by Daniel Hambury/EPA)

An Indian Brahmin and his family. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1890

During a jungle survival program February 20, 2013 taught by Royal Thai Special Forces in Sannapit, Thailand, U.S. Marines learned to catch cobras and drink their fresh blood, not to mention eat forest insects and pull the heads off of chicken. The training was part of Operation Cobra Gold 13, the 32nd edition of international military exercises hosted by the Thai. According to a U.S. Marines press release, Cobra Gold is the largest exercise of its kind in Asia and incorporates troops from five other nations in addition to the U.S. and Thailand. The Daily Mail reports that the Marines were invited to experience the local custom of drinking cobra blood after being taught to catch and kill cobras in the wild. As CNN notes, Cobra blood is believed to be a panacea and aphrodiasic in parts of Southeast Asia. In Jakarta, vendors can earn over $100 a night selling shots of cobra blood mixed with liquor. (Photo by Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP Photo)