A man gets ready backstage before performing in the 35th Cochin Carnival, which is held annually to welcome the start of the New Year at Fort Kochi in the southern state of Kerala, India, January 1, 2019. (Photo by Sivaram V/Reuters)

“Honorable Mention”. An Indian rhinoceros, far from home and stuck inside with late-winter blues at the Toronto zoo. Photo location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo and caption by Stephen De Lisle/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Nikolai Vasilyev, 62, dressed as Father Frost, Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, December 10, 2015. Vasilyev, a teacher of the Krasnoyarsk Aerospace Academy, constructed the self-made water skis to travel on the water surface. The skis are made of plastic foam and the sticks are designed to propel him forward. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

The “Sarandi” stream, dyed red due to unknown contaminants allege residents, flows into the Río de la Plata on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, February 6, 2025. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A large bull walrus returns to the shores of Prins Karl Forland after diving and feeding on clams. (Photo by Paul Nicklen/National Geographic). Svalbard, Norway, 2011

These incredible pictures look like a bird's-eye view of a faraway alien planet – but they're actually hot springs. The amazing snaps are up-close shots of Iceland's hot springs, and the point-blank pictures produce a breathtaking array of colors and effects. Here: The amazing snaps are up-close shots of Icelandic hot springs. (Photo by Johann Vilhjalmsson/Caters News)

A photographer could bear-ly believe his eyes when a bear started waving at him. The friendly animal wandered to the front of his enclosure before sitting back in full view of zoo guests. He then lifts his powerful paw and excitedly waves in an almost human-like way at his new audience. The hilarious encounter was captured by keen photographer Andrey Slepnev, 31, while on a trip to Madrid Zoo, Spain on March 24, 2016. (Photo by Andrey Slepnev/Caters News)

North Korean commuters are seen through a door window waiting to board a train in a subway train station in Pyongyang, North Korea, 14 April 2017. North Koreans are preparing to celebrate the “Day of the Sun” festival, commemorating the 105th birthday anniversary of former supreme leader Kim Il-sung on 15 April, as tension over nuclear issues rise in the region. (Photo by How Hwee Young/EPA)