National Geographic invites photographers from around the world to enter the 2013 National Geographic Photography Contest. The grand-prize winner will receive $10,000 (USD) and a trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual National Geographic Photography Seminar in January 2014. Photo: “We just want to move to search to the Leopard at that morning but we found a group of giraffes come toward a small lake and start drinking it was a nice moment when the Giraffe finish from drinking and leave a letters “S” with motion in the air”. (Photo and caption by Majed Ali/National Geographic Photography Contest)

These images show off some of the world's most majestic creatures silhouetted against the beautiful rising and setting sun. The vibrant pictures feature a variety of animals in the wild and were taken by a host of photographers at locations around the world. The striking images all have one thing in common: the photographers' awe-inspiring ability to perfectly capture the silhouettes of earth's beautiful creatures. Here: a blue wildebeest moves through grassland at dawn with the sun in the background in Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya, Africa. (Photo by Renato Granieri/Caters News/Ardea)

Fluffy toy panda bears as part of the art installation “Panda mie” by Italian restaurant owner Giuseppe “Pino” Fichera sit over beers at his restaurant “Pino's” to raise awareness of the COVID-19 lockdown's business impact on gastronomy in Frankfurt, Germany, November 24, 2020. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

Cute sеxy caucasian brunette young woman dressed as Mrs. Santa Claus, smiling with joy, biting a candy cane with eyes closed, Christmas or New Years Eve 2022 concept. (Photo by Cryptographer/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

These adorable pawtraits seem to show the personalities of a variety of canines, capturing their incredible diverseness in their expressions and fine details. Khokhlov and Ershova, who are from Moscow, have taken portraits of about 50 breeds of pooches – earning much critical acclaim. (Photo by Alexander Khokhlov/Veronica Ershova/Caters News Agency)

A bolt of lighting strikes over Lewiston, Idaho, behind the Interstate Bridge that spans the Snake River into Clarkston, Wash., on the morning of Thursday, July 1, 2021. Multiple thunderstorms moved through the area on Wednesday evening into Thursday morning. (Photo by Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP Photo)

This view shows giant hot air balloons of various shapes being lifted to begin flights from the Metropolitan Park over the city of Leon during the 2025 International Balloon Festival (FIG) in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico on November 15, 2025. (Photo by Mario Armas/AFP Photo)

The worst drought in 40 years has a cruel grip on Somalia. A struggling young government and militant violence have compounded to bring crisis to 6.7 million lives. The town of Baidoa is facing some of the harshest conditions. Surrounded by territory controlled by al-Shabaab militants and amid ongoing attacks, 160,000 people have had to leave their farms and are surviving in camps where hunger, thirst and cholera await them. (Photo by Peter Caton/Mercy Corps)