Trained by Dutch photographer Ellen van Deelen to hold different musical instruments and pose for the camera, the Roosendaal Rats are considered very talented by their owner. She confesses rats weren’t exactly her favorite creatures, but, after buying these two, she realized they are highly intelligent creatures.

Reuters Photographer Carlos Barria photographed a person born in each year China's one child policy has been in existence; from a man born in 1979, to a baby born in 2014, and asked them if they would have like to have siblings. Here: Lv Mengmeng, who was born in 1995, poses for a photograph in Shanghai August 22, 2014. When asked if she would like siblings, Mengmeng said: “Maybe brothers, because I think they could protect me”. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Some 300 girls and women in India still practise open defecation. Over half the country’s population, 800 million people, do not have access to a toilet that meets basic standards. (Photo by Poulomi Basu/WaterAid)

Second place, Nature: double trapping. Picture taken in the Brazilian Pantanal ... when I downloaded the CF did not want to believe it ... The nature knows we always give magnificent events but sometimes extraordinary. (Photo by Massimiliano Bencivenni/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)

“Misty Morning”. Every morning, people expect sunny weather. Photo location: Bali, Indonesia. (Photo and caption by Henry Adam/National Geographic Photo Contest)

If we asked you to think of your favorite cute animal, you might not immediately list a duck, but when you see this Reddit user and his pet duckling Peeps you may change your mind. Peeps is fuzzy, he’s lovable and he grew up in a beard (really). The man initially bought Peeps as an egg, thinking he was a chicken. He was wrong, but he didn’t care, it turned out to be one of the cutest friendships ever.

“A Mothers Tail”. A baby cub pulls on his mother's tail to get attention. Photo location: Masai Mara, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Tori Marsh/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Winner. “I took this picture of a woman in traditional clothing in Cartagena, Colombia”. PAUL GOLDSTEIN, JUDGE: “The blaze of colour from every angle, the boldness of the picture, taken from behind, which gives it so much more allure and frankly a superb get up. Did I mention the colours? Oh, and that looks suspiciously like a Nokia”. (Photo by Stanislav Shmelev/The Guardian)