Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)

Two brown bears bathe in their enclosure at the Wildpark Poing in Poing, Germany, Wednesday, August 8, 2018. (Photo by Lino Mirgeler/Deutsche Presse-Agentur via AP Photo)

Young female Ibex on the fork of Disteis (2,200 m), near the top of the Jof di Montasio (Friuli, Italy). (Photo by Stefano Zocca)

“Secrets of the Whales”. Skerry’s photographs celebrate the lives and culture of whales, illuminating recent research and their diverse behaviours. His latest work focuses on four key species: sperm whales, humpbacks, orca and beluga whales. Humpback whales bubble-net feeding off the coast of Alaska. They work cooperatively to feed on herring by blowing a perfect ring of bubbles underwater to form a net encircling the fish. The whales then swim up through the centre of the bubble net with their mouths open. (Photo by Brian Skerry/National Geographic Photo/Visa pour l'Image)

Chelsea pensioner Mike Smith in the rear of one of two Spitfires flying over Sussex during a surprise flight organised by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. (Photo by Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)

People look on at the side of a road as Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT's British driver Elfyn Evans steers his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid with British co-driver Scott Martin while arriving to Naivasha ahead of the second day of the World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally Kenya in Naivasha, on March 28, 2024. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

Folk dancers from Chile participate in a folk dance festival in Bitola, North Macedonia on July 26, 2023. (Photo by Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)

A Russian police officer detains a teenager during rally protesting retirement age hikes in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, September 9, 2018. A government plan to increase the age for collecting state pensions brought protests across Russia's 11 time zones on Sunday even though the opposition leader who called them was in jail. Nearly 300 people were reported arrested. (Photo by Roman Pimenov/Interpress photo via AP Photo)