Animal rights activists, including musician Kris Reichert, center, hold up signs with writing in Italian reading; “Leather: a lethal look” and “I wouldn't wear animal skin even if I were dead” as they stage a demonstration in front of Milan's Duomo gothic cathedral, Italy, Wednesday, September 20, 2017. Milan Fashion Week previews kick off Wednesday with Gucci, leading up to the awards on Sunday night. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

Competitors climb in front of the Matterhorn mountain at the start of the 21st Glacier Patrol race in Stafel outside the ski resort of Zermatt, Switzerland, 18 April 2018. The Glacier Patrol (Patrouille des Glaciers in French), organized by the Swiss Army, takes place from April 17 to 21. Highly-experienced hiker-skiers trek for over 53km (3994m ascent and 4090m descent) along the Haute Route along the Swiss-Italian border from Zermatt to Verbier. (Photo by Valentin Flauraud/EPA/EFE)

Composer, harpist and singer Esther Swift alongside her Italian Salvi pedal harp during a photocall ahead of her upcoming tour, at the Forth Bridge in North Queensferry, Scotland on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Ms Swift will tour across Scotland solo this month with a programme of original compositions and traditional works. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

Napoli fans celebrate after winning the Coppa Italia final against Juventus FC, in central Naples, Italy on June 17, 2020. Napoli won the Italian Cup with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Juventus following a 0-0 draw in a match played at the Rome Olympic Stadium. (Photo by Salvatore Laporta/IPA/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

“Hey! I'm Thomas Shahan, an artist and macrophotographer from Oklahoma. In my spare time over the past few years, I've been shooting portraiture of local arthropods. Why would I devote countless hours to tramping through forests, fields and the like searching for insects and spiders? Well, despite some common beliefs, arthropods (members of the phylum Arthropoda – insects, spiders, crustaceans...) represent an endlessly varied, wildly beautiful and fascinating bunch of animals with surprisingly personable faces and behavior. Often, all it takes is simply inspecting their lives on a closer level to turn repulsion to reverence”. – Thomas Shahan

Photo: Adult Male Jumping Spider at Sunset – Phidippus mystaceus. (Photo by Thomas Shahan; Source: Flickr)

“Sperm whale opening it's huge mouth, Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Sperm whales are the biggest carnivorous animals on the planet. Each teeth in the mouth of adult specimen weights more than 1 kilogram. Interestingly enough that modern marine biologists believe that these teeth despite being fearsome play little role in capturing and eating giant squid – with their main function being mainly ritual aggression between males!”. (Photo by Alexander Safonov)

Sebastião Salgado is a Brazilian documentary photographer living in Paris. He has produced several books, and his work has been exhibited extensively around the world. His latest work, «Genesis», premieres at The Natural History Museum in London on April 11, on view through September 8, 2013. Photo: On South Georgia, a barren island in the far South Atlantic, a pair of southern elephant seal calves beckon before a colony of king penguins. “The male seals can grow to almost five tons,” says Salgado, “but these are just babies. This one looked at me with beautiful eyes”. (Photo by Sebastião Salgado/Amazonas/Contact Press Images)

Marines finish a 10 kilometer training hike carrying 55 pound (25 kg) packs during Marine Combat Training (MCT) on February 22, 2013 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Since 1988 all non-infantry enlisted male Marines have been required to complete 29 days of basic combat skills training at MCT after graduating from boot camp. MCT has been required for all enlisted female Marines since 1997. About six percent of enlisted Marines are female. (Photo by Scott Olson/AFP Photo)