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)

A woman from the Hui Muslim community carries food that will be eaten by her and others to break their fast during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Nanxiapo Mosque on June 8, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Revellers make the most of Friday night in Soho, central London after the hottest day of the year recorded in the capital this year, June 17, 2022. (Photo by Marcin Nowak/Alamy Live News)

A dog walks on the street as it snows in Kyoto on January 25, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Palestinians carry their belongings as they prepare to flee Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

Women sits outside a go-go dance bar in Pattaya, Thailand March 25, 2017s. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Security personnel patrol around West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, August 31, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A dog, at the behest of his owner, rides a skatebaord on April 3, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The dog's owner, who looked like he might be homeless, coaxed the dog to ride the skatebaord and asked passersby who stopped to watch for money. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)