Kazakh nomads have been grazing their livestock in Mongolia for hundreds of years. Fascinated by the bond between hunter and eagle, photographer Palani Mohan has spent the last few years documenting the burkitshi. Mohan's photos of the landscape, isolation of the hunt, and most of all the trusting relationship between man and bird, convey the importance that the eagle plays in their lives. (Photo by Palani Mohan)

Galapagos – Rocking the Cradle: Four major ocean currents converge along the Galapagos archipelago, creating the conditions for an extraordinary diversity of animal life, April 25, 2016. The islands are home to at least 7,000 flora and fauna species, of which 97 percent of the reptiles, 80 percent of the land birds, 50 percent of the insects and 30 percent of the plants are endemic. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak for National Geographic/World Press Photo)

Birds behaviour winner: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. High on a ledge, on the coast near his home in northern Norway, Rikardsen carefully positioned an old tree branch that he hoped would make a perfect golden eagle lookout. To this, he bolted a tripod head with a camera, flashes and motion sensor attached, and built himself a hide a short distance away. From time to time, he left road‑kill carrion nearby. Very gradually – over the next three years – a golden eagle got used to the camera and started to use the branch regularly to survey the coast below. (Photo by Audun Rikardsen/2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A Galapagos Tortoise shell is used as a foot rest at Heathrow Airport's Animal Reception Centre on January 25, 2011 in London, England. Many animals pass through the centre's doors ranging from exotic animals such as snow leopards and elephants, snakes and crocodiles, to the more common such as cats and dogs. In 2010 alone the centre processed approximately 10,500 cats and dogs, 1,300 birds, 105,000 day old chicks, 246,000 reptiles, 230 horses and 29 million fish. Most animals are part of zoo transfer schemes, the pet trade, or are pets in transit. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

“Happy Feet” the emperor penguin that washed up on the Kapiti Coast last week, undergoes a medical examination at Wellington Zoo on June 29, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand. The young penguin landed on NZ shores last week, after traveling over 3,000 kilometres from the antarctic. The ill penguin was operated on at Wellington Zoo several times this week to remove sand and sticks from it's stomach with hopes it will recover fully. A team of experts is likely to decide today, whether the bird will remain in captivity in New Zealand, or be transported back the the antarctic. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

One of the nine baby flamingos born at Bristol Zoo stands with the adults as they feed together on August 19, 2011 in Bristol, England. Nine flamingo chicks have hatched at Bristol Zoo Gardens in the last three months – the biggest number the Zoo has ever had. The chicks, which are Greater Flamingoes from Africa and southern Europe and range in age from four weeks to three months old, take the Zoo's total flock to 38 birds. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A Sumatran Tiger looks at visiting children from it's enclosure during the ZSL London Zoo's annual stocktake of animals on January 5, 2015 in London, England. The zoo's annual stocktake requires keepers to check on the numbers of every one of the 800 different animal species, including every invertebrate, bird, fish, mammal, reptile, and amphibian. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

In this July 12, 2007 file photo, a two-day-old piping plover runs along a beach in the Quonochontaug Conservation Area in Westerly, R.I. (Photo by Steven Senne/AP Photo)