A tired-looking Javan Fish Owl. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 5th December 1973

From house breaking in Johannesburg to hippos on the loose in Tbilisi to rioters attacking a policewoman in Burundi, Reuters photographers tell the story behind some of the most iconic pictures of the year. Here: Protesters drag a female police officer accused of shooting a protester in the Buterere neighbourhood of Bujumbura, Burundi, May 12, 2015. Goran Tomasevic: Protesters started throwing stones at a group of police, who then started to run away. The policewoman in the photo, Medikintos Inabeza, 33, got left behind and then some protesters started to push her, saying that she had shot a female protestor in the stomach with an AK47 rifle. I didn't see anything of that. There were 5 or 10 protesters pushing the policewoman at first, then others came and joined in. Up to 20 or 30 protesters were surrounding her at one point. The protesters kicked and beat her very badly; I also saw a couple of knives. I thought they were going to kill her... (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Chris Renshaw has recently been awarded the 2015 Africa Geographic “Photographer of the Year” award. Chris tells that his love “for anything wild and adventurous came from a deep rooted attachment to the African continent. This image shows that timing, a bit of anticipation, and luck allowed this incredible moment in time to be captured”. (Photo by Chris Renshaw)

A young child reaches out to a Gentoo penguin as it swims in its enclosure at Pairi Daiza Park in Cambron-Casteau, Belgium, Monday, July 5, 2021. Pairi Daiza, one of the biggest zoos in Europe, has recently added ten Gentoo penguins to their animal population. (Photo by Virginia Mayo/AP Photo)

Men ride on a “mikoshi” or portable shrine as local people carry it into the sea during a festival to wish peace in the ocean and good fortune in the new year in Oiso, west of Tokyo, January 1, 2015. (Photo by Yuya Shino/Reuters)

Dan McManus and his service dog Shadow hang glide together outside Salt Lake City, Utah, July 22, 2013. McManus suffers from anxiety and Shadow's presence and companionship help him to manage the symptoms. The two have been flying together for about nine years with a specially made harness for Shadow. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

Two female holidaymakers relax on an unidentified beach of England, September 21, 1940, as a soldier, eyes straight ahead, stands guard at a barrier built as a defense against possible invasion by Germany. (Photo by AP Photo)

A protester in an Elmo mask dances during the Justice for George Floyd Philadelphia Protest on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Demonstrators took to the streets across the United States to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Matt Rourke/AP Photo)