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)

Human Connection Award: People and Planet Ocean – Winner – Steve Woods. A free diver interacts with a sperm whale among a cloud of sargassum weed, Dominica. (Photo by Steve Woods/Ocean Photographer of the Year 2022)

A cygnet keeps snug under its mother’s wing at Heronry Pond in Wanstead Park in east London in the last decade of May 2024. (Photo by Jeff Moore/The Times)

Julia Marino of USA in action during the final run of the snowboard slopestyle competition at the Laax Open, in Laax, Switzerland, 17 January 2020. (Photo by Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Couples participate in the “Running of the Brides” race in a park in Bangkok November 29, 2014. Seventy-five husbands and wives-to-be wore their wedding dresses and running shoes and competed in an event for a combined prize worth 1 million Thai baht ($30,460). (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A stork-billed kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis) is seen perched on a tree during monsoon rain on July 25, 2016 in Bintan, Indonesia. The stork-billed kingfisher is a tree species which is widely but sparsely distributed in the tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India to Indonesia. This kingfisher is resident throughout its range. It is very large, measuring 35 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) in length. The adult has a green back, blue wings and tail, and grey head. (Photo by Sijori Images/Barcroft Images)

A wild leopard runs on the stairs as it tries to escape from a compound of a house in Kathmandu, Nepal June 1, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A camel calf is seen among a herd in the desert near Dakhla in Morocco-administered Western Sahara, on October 13, 2019. In the Oued Eddahab desert in Western Sahara, Habiboullah Dlimi raises dairy and racing camels just like his ancestors used to, but with a little help from modern technology. While his animals roam free and are milked traditionally, by hand, at dawn and dusk, they are watched over by hired herders and Dlimi follows GPS coordinates across the desert in a 4X4 vehicle to reach them. (Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP Photo)