A participant dressed as a mermaid goes to swim in the beach after taking part in the Annual Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn, New York, June 18, 2016. The annual parade, founded in 1983, seeks to bring mythology to life for residents, create confidence in the district and to allow artistic self-expression in public, according to the parade's website. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

Women dressed in kimonos pose for a selfie photograph at a deserted torii path Fushimi Inari Taish shrine on January 18, 2021 in Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto, along with a Osaka and several other prefectures, was brought under a state of emergency last week by the Japanese government as they grapple to contain the third, and most virulent, wave of Covd-19 coronavirus to hit the country. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

Palestinian children practise parkour along a beach in Gaza City at sunset on January 27, 2021. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo)

A tourist carries her luggage in a flooded St. Mark's Square, in Venice, Wednesday, November 13, 2019. The high-water mark hit 187 centimeters (74 inches) late Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, meaning more than 85% of the city was flooded. The highest level ever recorded was 194 centimeters (76 inches) during infamous flooding in 1966. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

A four-legged robot dog called SPOT patrols a park as it undergoes testing to be deployed as a safe distancing ambassador, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Singapore on May 8, 2020. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

Muslim pilgrims pray on top of the rocky hill known as Mountain of Mercy on the Plain of Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, July 30, 2020. Only about 1,000 pilgrims will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage this year due to the virus pandemic. (Photo by Saudi Ministry of Media via AP Photo)

Volunteers distribute water to a woman carrying a child along a street during a hot summer day in Karachi on May 14, 2022. (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum/AFP Photo)

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)