Pedestrians look at a Maurician oil tanker Tresta Star stranded on Tremblet coast in Saint-Philippe, south-east of the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, on February 4, 2022 after the passage of the tropical cyclone Batsirai as the island was placed under a cyclonic red alert. (Photo by Richard Bouhet/AFP Photo)

A member of the Knights Guard cleans the ice during the Vegas Golden Knights' game against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena on April 28, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Avalanche 5-2. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images via AFP Photo)

This photograph taken on June 20, 2021 and received courtesy of Radchadawan Peungprasopporn via her Facebook account on June 22, 2021 shows an elephant searching for food in the kitchen of her home in Pa La-U, Hua Hin. (Photo by Radchadawan Peungprasopporn/Facebook via AFP Photo)

Shanina Shaik fuels “Endless Desire” in a new campaign for jewelry designer Jacquie Aiche on October 5, 2023. The stunning model poses seductively in low-cut lingerie and topless under a robe as she showcases the lates handmade fine jewelry from the LA-based designer in the “Endless Desire” campaign. (Photo by Jacquie Aiche/The Mega Agency)

A horse is evacuated as the Canyon Fire burns in brush-filled hillsides in Castaic, California, 07 August 2025. The Canyon Fire near Lake Piru, a reservoir about 60 miles northwest of downtown LA, has forced thousands to evacute and has grown to more than 1,000 acres according to Cal Fire. (Photo by Allison Dinner/EPA)

The festival marks the end of the monsoon season and beginning of autumn. More than hundred girls under the age of nine gathered for the tradition of worshiping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy. The ritual holds a strong religious significance in Newar community. It is a community affair held primarily to save small girls from diseases and bad luck in the years to come. Photo: A young Nepalese girl dressed as a Kumari or living Goddess, smiles for camera as she waits for Kumari puja at Hanuman Dhoka, Basantapur Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, September 17, 2013. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

“Two Brothers”. We found about 20 lions eating a buffalo. When the male leaved the group we anticipated him to take photos. It is 8AM, light is perfect and the position too. The lion stops and looks down from the hill, another lion is coming up, it stiffens, I think that will be a fight, i'm tense, the camera is OK, the shots previously made perfect. The two meet, looking directly into their eyes, they sniff, rub against their heads, the tension drops, they start walking with the same step as when they were puppies, they are two brothers. Photo location: Masai Mara, Kenya. (Photo and caption by Massimo Mei/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)