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)

This photo taken on April 4, 2021 shows migratory birds flying over a wetland near the Yalu River in Dandong, in China's northeastern Liaoning province. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

An injured demonstrator hugs another as riot police officers prevent them from attending a Pride parade, which was banned by local authorities, in central in Ankara, Turkey on June 29, 2021. (Photo by Cagla Gurdogan/Reuters)

A couple enjoys the view of the ethnographic and amusement center Kremlin in Izmailovo reflected in the Serebryano-Vinogradnii lake in Moscow, Russia on July 30, 2017. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A man takes pictures of the Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, as it glows on the horizon over waters of Lake Ellesmere on the outskirts of Christchurch on April 24, 2023. (Photo by Sanka Vidanagama/AFP Photo)

A long exposure image shows star trails from the abandoned submerged orthodox church of St. Nicholas without roof, submerged in the Mavrovo Lake, near Mavrovi Anovi, North Macedonia, 17 March 2019. Constructed in 1850 and submerged in 1952 due to the construction of the hydro system Mavrovo, the church St. Nicholas continues to attract the attention of almost every visitor as it peaks from the water. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA/EFE)

People and Nature category winner: Why did the sloth cross the road? by Andrew Whitworth (Osa Conservation and University of Glasgow), taken in Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. “I was driving out from the Osa Peninsula, located on the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica on a dark, stormy day. This female three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) had luckily just about made it across the road, and the drivers of the Toyota on this occasion had spotted her in good time”. (Photo by Andrew Whitworth/2019 British Ecological Society Photography Competition)

A street entertainer waits for tourists in Havana, Cuba on October 2009. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/Reuters)