Pangolins in Crisis: Brent Stirton, South Africa; 1st place, Natural world and wildlife. “Pangolins are the world’s most illegally trafficked mammals, with an estimated one million trafficked to Asia in the last 10 years. Their scales are used in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine, and their meat is sold as a high-priced delicacy. As a result, pangolins are listed as critically endangered and anyone who trades or consumes them is breaking the law. This body of work exposes the trade, while exploring aspects of illegality and celebrating the people who are trying to save these animals”. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Sony World Photography Awards 2020)

In this September 14, 2017 photo, young women pose for a photo inside their squatter building that used to house the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in the Mangueira slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many lower-middle class Brazilians who gained ground during the boom years have since slid back closer to the poverty line. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)

Cyclists desperately try to keep their heavily-laden bicycles upright as they arrive at a market with baskets full of pineapples on August 23, 2018. The men travel up to 12 and a half miles with two baskets tied to the sides of their bikes, carrying between 50 and 100 pineapples to sell. Each of the bicycles is so heavily laden with fruit it is impossible for the men to actually ride their bikes, instead having to walk alongside them. When they arrive at the market place in Madhupur, Bangladesh, buyers will pay up to 30 Taka for a pineapple – the equivalent of around 28 pence. (Photo by Abdul Momin/Solent News & Photo Agency UK)

Lebanese people take pictures for damaged grain silos in Beirut port following a huge explosion rocked the city in Beirut, Lebanon, 23 August 2020. According to Lebanese Health Ministry at least 181 people were killed, and more than 6,000 injured in the Beirut blast that devastated the port area on 04 August and believed to have been caused by an estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse. (Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA/EFE)

In this Saturday, December 30, 2017, picture a girl wearing a bear fur costume takes part in an annual bear parade in Comanesti, Romania. It's a tradition that originated in pre-Christian times, when dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs went from house to house in villages, singing and dancing to ward off evil. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

American singer-songwriter, producer and former dancer Anastacia and teacher dancer Maykel Fonts perform during the “Dancing with the Stars” TV show in Rome, Italy on March 24, 2018. (Photo by PA Press Association)

A penguin (Manchots Royaux) walks on the basement area, early morning on December 25, 2022, at the Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic. (Photo by Patrick Hertzog/AFP Photo)

Balis Chinese community perform the dragon dance during Chinese New Year called Ngelawang ceremony on January 21, 2023 in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. The Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia is celebrating Lunar New Year, as COVID-19 restrictions have been removed, it is traditionally a time for people to meet their relatives and take part in celebrations with families. In Indonesia, ethnic Chinese families visited temples to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit on January 22. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)