Two sloth bear cubs save their paws from the hot ground during a search for food in the Daroji Bear Sanctuary in Karnataka, India in the second decade of January 2025. (Photo by Baiju Patil/Solent News)

In this undated photo provided by LittleFriendsPhoto.com via Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Kai, a 17-year-old male California sea lion at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Valejo, Calif. peers into the lens of photographer Seth Casteel, known for his “Underwater Dogs” photo series. ... (Photo by Seth Casteel/AP Photo/LittleFriendsPhoto.com via Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)

In this photo provided by Greenpeace, clothes are left to dry on a typhoon damaged tree in Surigao City, southern Philippines on Monday December 20, 2021. The governor of a central Philippine province devastated by Typhoon Rai last week pleaded on radio Tuesday for the government to quickly send food and other aid, warning that without outside help, army troops and police forces would have to be deployed to prevent looting amid growing hunger. (Photo by Jilson Tiu/Greenpeace via AP Photo)

A woman feeds a pig in her yard during spring flood in the Belarus village of Snyadin near Pripyat river, some 300 km south of Minsk, on April 16, 2013. (Photo by Viktor Drachev/AFP Photo)

Enthusiasts gathered at Cad East in Snowdonia National Park, England to take pictures of F-15 Eagle fighters as they completed the Mach Loop, November 2017. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

Guardian of the Mangroves – Overall Winner. Tanya Houppermans, Cuba. A curious American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) swims right up to Tanya, at Gardens of the Queen (Jardines De La Reina), an archipelago off the coast of Cuba. It has been strictly protected since 1996, and is one of the most untouched marine ecosystems in the world. ‍ “The healthy population of American crocodiles is down to the pristine condition of the mangroves and I wanted to capture close ups of this gentle giant in its natural habitat. I hope this image can illustrate that protecting areas like this is so critical”. (Photo by Tanya Griffin Houppermans/Mangrove Photographer of the Year)

A pine marten – one of a few wild mammals doing well in Britain (although they number just 3,700). A fifth of the country’s wild mammals are at high risk of extinction, research shows. (Photo by Maurice Flynn/The Mammal Society)

Polar frame, by Dmitry Kokh, Russia. When Kokh’s boat approached the small island of Kolyuchin in the Russian High Arctic, which had been abandoned by humans since 1992, he was surprised to spot movement in one of the houses. Binoculars revealed polar bears – more than 20 in total – exploring the ghost town. Dmitry used a low-noise drone to document them. (Photo by Dmitry Kokh/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2022)