Shooting star by Tony Wu, US/Japan. Winner, underwater. The electrifying reproductive dance of a giant sea star. As the surrounding water filled with sperm and eggs from spawning sea stars, Wu faced several challenges. Stuck in a small, enclosed bay with only a macro lens for photographing small subjects, he backed up to squeeze the undulating sea star into his field of view. The dancing posture of spawning sea stars rising and swaying may help release eggs and sperm, or may help sweep the eggs and sperm into the currents where they fertilise together in the water. Kinko Bay, Japan. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A tern chick takes its first steps in the first decade of June 2024 at Nickerson Beach, New York, a common nesting location. (Photo by Suraj Ramamurthy/Solent News)

A newborn baby giraffe shows its tongue at the Planckendael zoo in Mechelen, 25 kilometers North of Brussels, Tuesday, February 18, 2014. The calf was born on Valentines day, February 14, and has a heart shaped spot on the hip. (Photo by Yves Logghe/AP Photo)

A five-week-old orphaned Southern Sea Otter pup rests on a rubber mat after arriving at the Shedd Aquarium's Abbott Oceanarium in Chicago, Illinois October 28, 2014 in this handout photo provided to Reuters on November 5, 2014. The stranded pup was found on September 30 on Coastways Beach in California and was rescued the next day to be brought back to health at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Southern sea otters were listed as “threatened” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1977. (Photo by Brenna Hernandez/Reuters/Shedd Aquarium)

A cat dressed in a traditional outfit takes part during the Orthodox Christmas celebration in Kiev, Ukraine on January 7, 2020. Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day on December 25 of the older Julian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. (Photo by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A demonstrator shows her arm with the name “Marielle” written on it, as she performs during a protest against the murder of councilwoman Marielle Franco in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Franco's murder came just a month after the government put the military in charge of security in Rio, which is experiencing a sharp spike in violence less than two years after hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

A baby Sumatran orangutan is bathed after arriving at a wildlife center at Ratchaburi province in Thailand September 13, 2017. (Photo by Kerek Wongsa/Reuters)

A brown bear is checked by foreign veterinaries and local staff members at the Four Paws Bear Sanctuary in Pristina, on May 9, 2014. (Photo by Hazir Reka/Reuters)