Bloodthirsty by Thomas P. Peschak, Germany/South Africa — winner, Behaviour: birds. When rations run short on Wolf Island, in the remote northern Galápagos, the sharp-beaked ground finches become vampires. Their sitting targets are Nazca boobies and other large birds. The finches rely on a scant diet of seeds and insects, which regularly dries up, so they drink blood to survive. ‘I’ve seen more than half a dozen finches drinking from a single Nazca booby,’ says Tom. Rather than leave their nests the boobies tolerate the vampires, and the blood loss doesn’t seem to cause permanent harm. (Photo by Thomas P. Peschak/2018 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Sun Rongchun, 57, exercises with an improvised cervical traction device attached to a high bar at a sports complex in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China on April 9, 2019. (Photo by Sheng Li/Reuters)

A worker sprays disinfectant at Independence Square during a disinfection operation, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur on October 17, 2020. (Photo by Lim Huey Teng/Reuters)

Heidi Klum seen leaving Good Morning America on July 06, 2017 in New York, New York. (Photo by Josiah Kamau/BuzzFoto via Getty Images)

A woman receives a bouquet made of vegetables and flowers, priced at 238RMB, from a delivery staff of a florist outside an office building on Valentine's Day in Beijing, China, February 14, 2017. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

A dramatic rise in owning exotic pets in China is fuelling global demand for threatened species. The growing trade in alligators, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and spiders is directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Here: A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is groomed in a pet store in central Beijing. Native to the Sahara in North Africa, the species became a popular pet after being depicted as a character in Disney’s 2016 animated movie Zootopia. Individuals can cost between $2,000–$3,000. (Photo by Sean Gallagher/The Guardian)

In this November 30, 2017 photo, Douglas scoops up mud from the bottom of the polluted Guaire River, in search of gold and anything valuable he can sell, in Caracas, Venezuela. Some stretches of the river smell of sewer while others emit a toxic odor of fuel, a stench that stays in ones nose for hours after leaving the water. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

A local resident performs traditional horse racing during a celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in northwest China's Qinghai Province, August 4, 2021. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)