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)

Sulphur miners haul sulphur up an arduous path out of Indonesia’s Ijen volcano. The average carry out of the volcano is 70 kilograms per load per miner. The all-time record carry was 120 kilograms in one load. Extraordinary numbers given most of the miners only weigh around 55 kilograms. Ijen volcano, Indonesia, 2012. (Photo by Hugh Brown/South West News Service)

October winner. “A burst of the aurora borealis over Kirkjufell, taken in September 2016. This shot has been a holy grail for me and was finally captured after many trips”. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: Iceland is a hotspot for aurora photography and this composition of the symmetric, free-standing Kirkjufell and the trident waterfall is much-sought after. If you can time your visit when the aurora “kp” index is high and know the settings for nighttime aurora images, you may end up with a beautiful photograph like this. (Photo by DВ/The Guardian)

Participants dance at the City of West Hollywood's Pride Parade on June 05, 2022 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images)

Pregame scenes from the game between the Georgia Bulldogs against the Samford Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia on September 9, 2022. (Photo by Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports)

Lieke Martens of Netherlands is tackled by Andi Sullivan of USA during the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group E match between USA and Netherlands at Wellington Regional Stadium on July 27, 2023 in Wellington / Te Whanganui-a-Tara, New Zealand. (Photo by Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)

Muharrem Yilmaz, 78, takes his dog “Toprak” to a scooter and a swing ride everyday in Aydin, Turkiye on June 14, 2024. Yilmaz started taking his dog to long scooter rides after realising it likes to play with his grandkids' scooter. Then, he made a swing out of fruit boxes for the dog. Yilmaz adopted his dog Toprak two years ago when he found it in a restaurant garden as a lost puppy. (Photo by Ferdi Uzun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Azerbaijan's Mariya Stadnik (R) wrestles Mongolia's Otgonjargal Dolgorjav (L) in their women's freestyle 50kg wrestling quarter-final match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on August 6, 2024. (Photo by Punit Paranjpe/AFP Photo)