People wearing fancy costumes walk near a skating rink past signs requesting to use protective face masks and to keep a social distance amid the coronavirus disease (COVID 19) outbreak, as heavy fog covers a square named after Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin in Stavropol, Russia on December 1, 2020. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)

Mike Bennett wears a Patriot face mask on his mouth as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 while skateboarding with his dog amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in Huntington Beach, California on April 25, 2020. Orange County is the only county in the area where beaches remain open, lifeguards in Huntington Beach expect tens of thousands of people to flock the beach this weekend due to the heat wave. Lifeguards and law enforcement are patrolling the beach to make sure people are keeping their distance. (Photo by Apu Gomes/AFP Photo)

Border guard officers, wearing masks against COVID-19 infection adjust their outfits before a distinguished service awards ceremony for employees of the interior ministry in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Romania has registered on Thursday the highest number of COVID-19 infection cases since the pandemic reached the country in February, 777 in a 24 hours interval, as many fail to observe the mandatory protection measures, like the use of a face mask indoors or maintaining social distancing. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

A dog catches a frisbee during a dog frisbee competition in Moscow, September 13, 2015. Dogs and their owners took part in a variety of distance and accuracy tests during the competition to check their frisbee skills. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

When you look at the picture of a furry pig that resembles a sheep from a distance, you may think that this may be the result of the work of some crazy scientist that tinkered with the pig’s genome. However, in this case, this is not true. Mangalica is a natural breed of pigs, which were bred in Europe for their lard. This breed of pigs is very unique, since the only other breed of pigs which had a long coat was Loncolnshire Curly Coat, which is now extinct. In the past, these pigs were quite popular, since they were able to produce a lot of lard. However, when the demand for pig lard dwindled, the population of these pigs rapidly decreased, making it a “rare breed”.

A participant attempts to control his craft during the Red Bull Flugtag Russia 2015 competition in Moscow, Russia, July 26, 2015. Enthusiasts competed in disciplines on the longest distance of the flight, on the creativity of self-made aircrafts and on the originality of the performance in an attempt to win the contest, according to organizers. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

Australia-based photographer Birte Person wasn't quite as afraid. With the safety of distance, she was brave enough to capture these stunning shots of the rare animals during feeding time at the Singapore Zoo.

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)