A child enjoys yellow gingko leaves outside the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on November 8, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Zhao Jun/China News Service via Getty Images)

Commended. In late May, about a quarter of a million snow geese arrive from North America to nest on Wrangel Island, in northeastern Russia. They form the world's largest breeding colony of snow geese. Photographer Sergey Gorshkov spent two months on the remote island photographing the unfolding dramas. Arctic foxes take advantage of the abundance of eggs, caching surplus eggs for leaner times. But a goose (here the gander) is easily a match for a fox, which must rely on speed and guile to steal eggs. “The battles were fairly equal”, notes Sergey, “and I only saw a fox succeed in grabbing an egg on a couple of occasions, despite many attempts”. Surprisingly, “the geese lacked any sense of community spirit”, he adds, “and never reacted when a fox harassed a neighboring pair nesting close by”. (Photo by Sergey Gorshkov/Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer)

A picture taken on June 3, 2022 shows a unique albinos Galapagos giant tortoise baby, born on May 1, at the Tropicarium of Servion, western Switzerland. Albinos Galapagos tortoises have never been observed in captivity or in the nature. The Galapagos giant tortoises are strictly protected and are among the most endangered species among CITES-listed animals. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

The winners of the Historic Photographer of the Year Awards 2020 from triphistoric.com celebrate the places and cultural sites around the world that offer a window to the history that exists all around us. This year, restricted by Covid, photographers were called on to scour their photographic archive to share their imagery of those places that dominate our past. Here: The Brighton Palace Pier. (Photo by Michael Marsh/Historic Photographer of the Year 2020)

People in quarantine exercise in front of their homes amid Covid-19 full lockdown of the city in Shanghai, China, 27 April 2022. According to the Shanghai Health Commission on 27 April, there were 48 new Covid-19 deaths, 1,606 locally transmitted cases, and 11,956 local asymptomatic infections, in Shanghai city. Despite the death toll rising in Shanghai, the number of daily infections has gradually declined. (Photo by Alex Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

“DC3 Wreck”. A capture of a US military DC3 plane wreck at the southern black beach in Iceland. Photo location: Iceland. (Photo and caption by Naian Feng/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Tibetan monks in ghoulish costumes perform during a ceremony to chase away the “demon king” to bring peace and happiness for the Tibetan New Year at the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing, Sunday, February 19, 2023. The annual event has returned after China lifted all bans on public gatherings from the outbreak of COVID-19. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

Pfc. Esmeralda Calderon stands and salutes the flag on the 15th green during the first round of the LPGA golf tournament at Kingsmill Resort and Golf Course in Williamsburg, Va., Thursday May 23, 2019. Pfc. Calderon, from San Antonio, Texas, is a Marine assigned to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. (Photo by John Sudbrink/The Daily Press via AP Photo)