Play-fighting cheetah siblings at the Zimanga game reserve in South Africa in the second decade of November 2024 were spotted by Gavin Bickerton-Jones, an amateur photographer, who said: “It is a bit scary at first being so close, but also a privilege for them to let you share their space”. (Photo by Gavin Bickerton-Jones/Solent News)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the United States, compete in the ice dance's rhythm dance segment at the ISU Grand Prix Finals of Figure Skating, Friday, December 6, 2024, in Grenoble, France. (Photo by Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)

A tern chased away a ghost crab that was threatening its chicks at a beach near Fort Myers, Florida in the last decade of June 2023, before feeding them with freshly caught fish. (Photo by Judy Rogero/Solent News)

A person shields themself from snowfall as they walk to a taxi in Midtown Manhattan, New York City on January 6, 2024. Forecasters warned on January 5 that a deluge of snow and wintery conditions could bring travel chaos to the US northeast this weekend, with some 25 million people subject to a storm warning. (Photo by Adam Gray/AFP Photo)

A rescued malnourished sea lion is manually fed a fish at Sea World in San Diego, California March 17, 2015. Animal rescue centers in California are being inundated with stranded, starving sea lion pups, raising the possibility that the facilities could soon be overwhelmed, the federal agency coordinating the rescue said. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

A hogweed bonking beetle and yellow dung fly in a stalk standoff (the fly gave in), in Burley-in-Wharfedale, Yorkshire, England. (Photo by Rebecca Cole/Alamy Stock Photo)

Trees are reflected on the surface of a lake in the Okefenokee swamp lands in Georgia, USA on October 21, 2017. (Photo by Chris Moore/Solent News & Photo Agency)