A member of an Egungun masquerade group, his identity obscured under his ornate costume in Ouidah, Benin on March 13, 2019. The exclusively male practitioners, found across Yoruba culture, use dance and spinning in the belief that they will summon the spirits of ancestors. (Photo by Massimo Rumi/Barcroft Images)

Sudanese fishermen check their boats and nets before they row through the waters of Nile River near Jebel Aulia, Sudan, May 3, 2019. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

A man uses iron sheet to make noises, as a way of trying to disperse desert locusts that had invaded their farms during the second wave invasion in Kakongo village, in Nuu-Mwingi East, in Kitui, Kenya, 06 February 2021. The second wave invasion of the desert locusts in the country comes at a time where most famers are expecting to harvest their farm produce in the country. (Photo by Daniel Irungu/EPA/EFE)

A TV journalist reports next to a life-size cutout of Pope Francis outside the Catholic Nunciature before the pontiff arrives in Mexico City, Friday, February 12, 2016. Pope Francis is arriving in Mexico on Friday for a week-long visit. (Photo by Christian Palma/AP Photo)

“The fennec fox is a small nocturnal fox found in the Sahara of North Africa. Its most distinctive feature is unusually large ears. The name “fennec” comes from the Arabic word for fox, and the species name zerda has a Greek origin that refers to its habitat. The fennec is the smallest species of canid in the world; coat, ears and kidney functions have adapted to a high-temperature, low-water, desert environment. In addition, its hearing is sensitive enough to hear prey moving underground”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A Baby Fennec is seen at Sunshine International Aquarium on June 24, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The small nocturnal fox babies were born on May 17 2009. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

The six-months-old female koala cub holds on to the back of zoo keeper Lena at the zoo in Duisburg, Germany, 23 October 2015. The yet unnamed baby weighs 580 grams. (Photo by Roland Weihrauch/EPA)

In this November 3, 2019, photograph a child with Down syndrome jokingly gestures to the audience while presenting ponchos displaying drawings inspired by children, during a fashion show dubbed “heART Couture” in Bucharest, Romania.Children with Down syndrome staged a fashion show and performed along a ballet ensemble, two milestone events for the inclusion of people with disabilities in Romania's social life, 30 years after the fall of communism following a violent uprising at the end of 1989. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)