Swedish brown bears “Fred” and “Frode” play in the snow on January 30, 2014 at the Natur- und Umweltpark (NUP) animal park in Guestrow, northeastern Germany. Despite of icy temperatures, the bear brothers took a break from their winter rest. (Photo by Bernd Wuestneck/AFP Photo/DPA)

United States Air Force Academy graduates cheer as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the graduation for the Class of 2021 at Falcon Stadium on May 26, 2021 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley gave the commencement address to the 1,019 graduates from the academy. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

A brown bear cub by the Khailyulya River in north-east Kamchatka, Russia on July 24, 2021. (Photo by Yuri Smityuk/TASS)

Participants make kimchi during an event where soldiers from the US, South Korea and residents collaborated by making the side dish for needy members of the local community in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, about 38 kilometers north of Seoul, on November 22, 2023. Participants produced 2,500 kilograms of fresh kimchi, which was divided into 250 boxes and distributed to needy households in the local community after the event. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

Miniature pig “Nueffel” is walked in a park in Hanover, Germany, 14 April 2016. (Photo by Sebastian Gollnow/EPA)

A view of a Van Gogh-inspired hot air balloon being inflated during the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta at Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga province, north of Manila February 12, 2015. According to the organizer, a total of 32 hot air balloons are part of the four-day event. (Photo by Erik De Castro/Reuters)

These breath-taking photographs reveal the everyday lives of animals living in the wild. The incredible images were taken by wildlife photographer Wim van dan Heever, from Pretoria, South Africa, during trips to locations including Japan, Botswana and Svalbard. The 43-year-old has been photographing wildlife since he was a young boy and turned his passion for animals into a career and set up ODP Safaris. He has travelled across the globe to photograph wild animals – from lions and tigers, to elephants, dolphins and eagles – as they hunt, give birth and graze in their natural habitats. Here: Lions submerged in water. (Photo by Wim van den Heever/Caters News)

Arachnids category 3rd place: dancing spider by Raed Ammari. Male jumping spiders (in this case a Phidippus insignarius) perform a courtship dance in which they almost form a heart shape with their legs. This one was shot in Colorado. (Photo by Raed Ammari/Luminar Bug Photographer of the Year 2020)