“Sokolica”. Sokolica, Poland. (Photo and caption by Marcin Kęsek/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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Behaviour: Mammals category. Giant Gathering by Tony Wu, USA. Dozens of sperm whales mingled noisily off Sri Lanka’s northeast coast, stacked as far down as Tony could see. This was a congregation of dozens of social units, like a gathering of the clans. Aggregations like this could be a critical part of the whales’ rich social lives but are rarely reported. Some two thirds of the population was wiped out before commercial whaling was banned in 1986. This kind of major gathering could be “a sign that populations are recovering”, says Tony. (Photo by Tony Wu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017)

Pakistani female police commandos attend a training session in Nowshera, near Peshawar Pakistan, Wednesday, February 11, 2015. Authorities formed a Special Combat Unit after Taliban militants stormed a Peshawar school on Dec. 16, 2014 and massacred 150 children and teachers. (Photo by Mohammad Sajjad/AP Photo)

Winner, photojournalism. Elephant in the room, by Adam Oswell, Australia Zoo. Visitors watch a young elephant performing underwater. Oswell was disturbed by this scene, and organisations concerned with the welfare of captive elephants say performances like this encourage unnatural behaviour. In Thailand, there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild. With the Covid pandemic causing tourism to collapse, elephant sanctuaries are becoming overwhelmed with animals that can no longer be looked after by their owners. (Photo by Adam Oswell/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021)

“Double head vulture”. On the day of windy days during raptors migration some people in my country start to catch these tired raptors, so in this day we go to photograph some raptors and we saw these tow tired vultures, so we start to drag them away from the hunters until they reach a good hidden place, to make them safe until they start a new journey. Photo location: Kuwait. (Photo and caption by Mohd Khorshed/National Geographic Photo Contest)

“Aurora over a glacier lagoon”. A vivid green overheaded aurrora pictured in Iceland's Vatnajokull National Park reflected almost symetrically in Jokulsrlon Glacier lagoon. A complete lack of wind and currrent combin in this sheltred lagoon scene to crete an arresting mirror effect giving the image a sensation of utter stillness. Despite theis there is motion on a suprising scale, as the loops and arcs of the aurora are shaped by the shifting forces of the Earth's magnetic field. James Woodend of Great Britain won the grand prize with the image, beating out more than 2,500 other entries. The Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 contest is judged by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and BBC Sky at Night magazine. (Photo by James Woodend/The Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 Contest)

Model Nikita Dragun gets her hair and makeup touched up backstage at The Blonds fashion show at Spring Place on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, in New York. (Photo by Brittainy Newman/AP Photo)

Charli XCX performs on day three of the Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on July 21, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)