A girl holds her hedgehog to be blessed by a priest at the Cathedral San Bernardino de Siena during the ceremony commemorating the Feast of San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of domestic animals, in Xochimilco on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico on January 17, 2024. (Photo by Raquel Cunha/Reuters)

Spain celebrates winning the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Final match between Spain and England on Sunday, August 20, 2023, at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

A Georgia Bulldogs dancer on the court during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second half at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia on January 11, 2025. (Photo by Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)

A Syrian rebel walks past Sham 2, a homemade armored vehicle, in Bishqatin, Syria, on December 8, 2012. From a distance it looks rather like a big rusty metal box but closer inspection reveals a homemade armored vehicle waiting to be deployed. Sham II, named after ancient Syria, is built from the chassis of a car and touted by rebels as “100 percent made in Syria”. (Photo by Herve Bar/AFP Photo)

A woman dancing on the Sphinx. A pyramid can be seen in the background. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1928

Goats jumps to cross a stream as they are driven by a herdsman at Dashiwo village, on the outskirts of Beijing January 26, 2015. The Chinese Lunar New Year on February 19 will welcome the Year of the Sheep (also known as the Year of the Goat or Ram). (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A protester reacts as police use water cannon during a demonstration to demand changes in the Chilean education system in Santiago, Chile June 25, 2015. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)