The legendary silver fox is a creature of mystery rarely seen in the wild, and will – literally – run for the hills upon human encounters

Grand prize winner: environmental photographer of the year 2023; also 1st place in the humanity v nature category; and winner of the 2023 public award. Lopé national park, Gabon, 2021. An angry elephant tries to defend itself after it was hit by a train that crosses paths the animals use within Lopé national park. Park officials decided the elephant was too severely injured to be saved. After it was killed, the park director distributed the meat to local people. As the forest loses its carrying capacity to sustain its megafauna, this kind of human-wildlife conflict is increasing. (Photo by Jasper Doest/Environmental Photography Award)

A woman wears a mask while carrying a dog in the street on January 22, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. A new infectious coronavirus known as “2019-nCoV” was discovered in Wuhan as the number of cases rose to over 400 in mainland China. Health officials stepped up efforts to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease which medicals experts confirmed can be passed from human to human. The death toll has reached 17 people as the Wuhan government issued regulations today that residents must wear masks in public places. Cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. (Photo by Getty Images/China Stringer Network)

An Animal Liberation Victoria activist cries as she holds a dead animal at Federation Square on October 1, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. Over 200 activists gathered with the bodies of deceased animals to publicly grieve their deaths. Animal Liberation Victoria is against the treatment of animals as “property” an promotes a vegan lifestyle. (Photo by Graham Denholm)

Armed Karo herdsman just back from protecting their cattle herds come down to the river to wash decorative clay markings off their bodies at the end of the day in the Omo Valley, South West Ethiopia. Dus, Omo Valley, Ethiopia, January 2008. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Discovery Communications)

LA Coroners leave the Beverly Hilton Hotel possibly carrying the body of the singer Whitney Houston in the early hours of February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. Singer and film star Whitney Houston aged 48 has died in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. (Photo/Toby Canham/Getty Images)

A man carries the body of his son for burial after he was killed when a rooftop of his house collapsed due to heavy rain in the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan April 27, 2015. A severe storm in northwest Pakistan, dubbed a “mini-cyclone”, has killed 44 people and injured more than 200, officials said, raising their previous death toll. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

A model who poses for tips wearing body paint and underwear poses for a portrait in Times Square in New York, August 19, 2015. She declined to give her name. New York officials including Governor Andrew Cuomo are considering measures to curtail the activity, according to local media. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)