Natural world and wildlife shortlist. Lop Buri in Thailand is home to hundreds of macaques, which local residents consider to be disciples of the Hindu god Hanuman. While some people love them, others fear or even hate them. Despite the inconvenience they often cause, the macaques are generally respected and considered sacred. (Photo by Joan de la Malla/Sony World Photography Awards)

Hot air balloons fly over the sky in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, December 6, 2014. The two-day International Balloon festival 2014 featuring balloon pilots from Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Britain, and Czech Republic is held on December 06-07 2014 to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 87th birthday and also aimed to promote the tourism industry in Chiang Mai northern city. (Photo by Pongmanat Tasiri/EPA)

In this Thursday, February 19, 2015 photo, participants at a seminar on edible insects taste a Cricket Consomme at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Bangkok, Thailand. A group of chefs and food scientists at the esteemed French school's branch in Bangkok spent the week simmering, sautéing and grilling insects to extract innovative flavors they say could open a new frontier for the world of gastronomy. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

An elephant mahout (trainer) lies on his elephant his feet resting on its ears as it rests and eats prior to opening day's play at the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament 2014 held near Bangkok, in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, 28 August 2014. The annual charity tournament runs until 31 August and involves 51 elephants who normally live on the streets and are used for begging. Sixteen competing elephant polo teams from 40 different nations take part in the charity event directed at raising funds to improve the lives of the elephants and elephant conservation in general. (Photo by Barbara Walton/EPA)

A pair of tigers soak in a shallow pool at Tiger Temple, a Buddhist monastery where paying visitors can interact with young adult tigers, in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, March 16, 2016. The attraction, near the Myanmar border, started collecting the animals 15 years ago when villagers brought an injured tiger cub to the local abbot, who agreed to care for it. Today there are nearly 150 tigers at the monastery. (Photo by Amanda Mustard/The New York Times)

A seagull eats a piece of dried fish of a man's hand during sunset at Bang Pu seaside resort in Samut Prakan province on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, 13 January 2019. Every year during the cold winter months between October to March thousands of seagulls migrate to Bang Pu seaside from Siberia to escape the harsh winter. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA/EFE)

A protester spits fire during a protest to mark the second anniversary of months of civil unrising against social inequality, in Santiago, on October 18, 2021. The social-justice protests that rocked Chile in October 2019 led ultimately to the decision to create a new constitutional convention to draft a constitution to replace the one written during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). The new 155-member the new body is in charge of writing a new constitution meant to pry power from the hands of the elite and spread it more equitably in the South American nation. (Photo by Martin Bernetti/AFP Photo)

Flames from a burning barricade lit by pro-democracy protesters is reflected in the windows of a passing bus as passengers watch on during a protest gathering in front of Mong Kok police station on September 22, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued demonstrations across Hong Kong, calling for the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam to immediately meet the rest of their demands, including an independent inquiry into police brutality, the retraction of the word “riot” to describe the rallies, and genuine universal suffrage, as the territory faces a leadership crisis. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)