Best Animal Photos of the Year

Our top animal photos from around the world this year.


Fireflies light up inside a forest at Pitrufquen area near Temuco, Chile, January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Cristobal Saavedra Escobar

Fireflies light up inside a forest at Pitrufquen area near Temuco, Chile, January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Cristobal Saavedra Escobar

Wild horses are pictured on the mountain Stolovi in Serbia, August 31. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic

Wild horses are pictured on the mountain Stolovi in Serbia, August 31. REUTERS/Zorana Jevtic

Schoolchildren observe a Caretta Caretta sea turtle that was released on Melenara Beach, after recovering from its injuries at the Taliarte Wildlife Recovery Center, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, March 30. REUTERS/Borja Suarez

Schoolchildren observe a Caretta Caretta sea turtle that was released on Melenara Beach, after recovering from its injuries at the Taliarte Wildlife Recovery Center, on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, March 30. REUTERS/Borja Suarez

Revellers react to a bull with flaming horns during a festival known as "bou embolat", which was banned in Valencia in 2016, but has been reinstated by the new regional government, in Carpesa, northern Valencia, Spain, September 17. REUTERS/Eva Manez

Revellers react to a bull with flaming horns during a festival known as "bou embolat", which was banned in Valencia in 2016, but has been reinstated by the new regional government, in Carpesa, northern Valencia, Spain, September 17. REUTERS/Eva Manez

Thousands of wading birds, including Knot and Oystercatcher, move as they settle onto dry sandbanks during the month's highest tides at The Wash estuary, near Snettisham in Norfolk, Britain, September 5. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Thousands of wading birds, including Knot and Oystercatcher, move as they settle onto dry sandbanks during the month's highest tides at The Wash estuary, near Snettisham in Norfolk, Britain, September 5. REUTERS/Toby Melville

One of two peacocks that remain from a population of eighteen in Holland Park displays its plumage as part of an annual courtship ritual, despite there being no females left, in London, Britain, April 25. REUTERS/Toby Melville

One of two peacocks that remain from a population of eighteen in Holland Park displays its plumage as part of an annual courtship ritual, despite there being no females left, in London, Britain, April 25. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A humpback whale breaches off in the coast of Ilhabela, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil July 22. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto

A humpback whale breaches off in the coast of Ilhabela, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil July 22. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto

Highland cattle wade in Loch Etive, Connel, Scotland, Britain, June 15. REUTERS/Carl Recine

Highland cattle wade in Loch Etive, Connel, Scotland, Britain, June 15. REUTERS/Carl Recine

Cormorant fishing master, known as usho, Youichiro Adachi (left), 48, holds the leashes tied to the necks and bodies of cormorants as he prepares for cormorant fishing or ukai, on the Nagara River in Oze, Seki, Japan, September 8. This 1,300-year-old fishing technique consists of swinging a basket of flames over the river to wake the ayu river fish, who dart away from their resting spots and give the birds a chance to catch them and then release them into a bucket with the usho's help.          REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Cormorant fishing master, known as usho, Youichiro Adachi (left), 48, holds the leashes tied to the necks and bodies of cormorants as he prepares for cormorant fishing or ukai, on the Nagara River in Oze, Seki, Japan, September 8. This 1,300-year-old fishing technique consists of swinging a basket of flames over the river to wake the ayu river fish, who dart away from their resting spots and give the birds a chance to catch them and then release them into a bucket with the usho's help.          REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Ducks are seen in a park during a foggy day in Moscow, Russia, October 23. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Ducks are seen in a park during a foggy day in Moscow, Russia, October 23. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

A deer stag barks in the early morning mist, as the annual rutting season continues, in Richmond Park, London, Britain, October 16. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A deer stag barks in the early morning mist, as the annual rutting season continues, in Richmond Park, London, Britain, October 16. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A bee feeds on a sunflower field in Thun-Saint-Martin, France, August 11. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

A bee feeds on a sunflower field in Thun-Saint-Martin, France, August 11. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

A seagull and crow chase a bald eagle from their nesting areas in the West End next to Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 11. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

A seagull and crow chase a bald eagle from their nesting areas in the West End next to Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 11. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

Owner Damien Gill holds 'Clonmore Geallog Ban' while he waits before competing in the Stallion 4 years and over class at the Roundstone Connemara Pony Show, in the County Galway village of Roundstone, Ireland, July 9. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Owner Damien Gill holds 'Clonmore Geallog Ban' while he waits before competing in the Stallion 4 years and over class at the Roundstone Connemara Pony Show, in the County Galway village of Roundstone, Ireland, July 9. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

Monarch butterflies rest on a tree at the Sierra Chincua butterfly sanctuary in Angangeo, Michoacan state, Mexico, December 6. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha

Monarch butterflies rest on a tree at the Sierra Chincua butterfly sanctuary in Angangeo, Michoacan state, Mexico, December 6. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha

Black-necked swans fly as the Universidad Austral de Valdivia Science Faculty team carries out a fieldwork to inspect black-necked swan flocks following the outbreak of bird flu, at the "Carlos Anwandter" Nature Sanctuary, on the outskirts of the southern Chilean city of Valdivia, Chile, April 20. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez

Black-necked swans fly as the Universidad Austral de Valdivia Science Faculty team carries out a fieldwork to inspect black-necked swan flocks following the outbreak of bird flu, at the "Carlos Anwandter" Nature Sanctuary, on the outskirts of the southern Chilean city of Valdivia, Chile, April 20. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez

A wild horse stands surrounded by fog in the Serra da Capelada, near Ferrol, Galicia, Spain, April 13. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

A wild horse stands surrounded by fog in the Serra da Capelada, near Ferrol, Galicia, Spain, April 13. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

A pony stands in the doorway of a cottage converted into a stable, in the County Galway village of Rosmuc, Ireland, May 16. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A pony stands in the doorway of a cottage converted into a stable, in the County Galway village of Rosmuc, Ireland, May 16. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A goat of the "Buena Cabra" (Good Goat) project, an initiative that relies on goats to control dry pastures and other vegetation that fuel forest fires in the summer, on his way to nibble on foliage in Santa Juana, Chile, May 11. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez

A goat of the "Buena Cabra" (Good Goat) project, an initiative that relies on goats to control dry pastures and other vegetation that fuel forest fires in the summer, on his way to nibble on foliage in Santa Juana, Chile, May 11. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez

A platypus is released by CEO of Taronga Zoo Cameron Kerr and Scientists back into Sydney's Royal National Park for the first time in over fifty years, in Sydney, Australia, May 12.  REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

A platypus is released by CEO of Taronga Zoo Cameron Kerr and Scientists back into Sydney's Royal National Park for the first time in over fifty years, in Sydney, Australia, May 12.  REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Livestock dealers are seen during a sandstorm at at a livestock market in Adre, Chad, May 11. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Livestock dealers are seen during a sandstorm at at a livestock market in Adre, Chad, May 11. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

A camel wearing a hat amid a heatwave, looks on, in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, July 19. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

A camel wearing a hat amid a heatwave, looks on, in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, July 19. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

A spider sits in its net on a bridge crossing river Main in Frankfurt, Germany, November 8.  REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

A spider sits in its net on a bridge crossing river Main in Frankfurt, Germany, November 8.  REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

A starling bird looks in a window, next to a Halloween sticker of a bat, as Storm Ciaran approaches, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A starling bird looks in a window, next to a Halloween sticker of a bat, as Storm Ciaran approaches, in Dublin, Ireland, November 1. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

A crane stands in a field at Hungary's vast Hortobagy National Park, Hungary, November 1. REUTERS/Marton Monus

A crane stands in a field at Hungary's vast Hortobagy National Park, Hungary, November 1. REUTERS/Marton Monus

A frog blows up its cheeks as it sits on a water lily in an artificial pond in Bad Honnef near Bonn, Germany, June 8.  REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

A frog blows up its cheeks as it sits on a water lily in an artificial pond in Bad Honnef near Bonn, Germany, June 8.  REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Giant panda Ding Ding lifts its cub with teeth in an enclosure at the Moscow Zoo in the capital Moscow, Russia, in this picture released August 30. Female giant panda Ding Ding recently gave birth to a cub, as the first-ever panda offspring was born in Russia. The cub's parents, Ding Ding and male giant panda Ru Yi, were lent by China to the Moscow Zoo in 2019 for 15 years as part of a joint research project. Moscow Zoo/Handout via REUTERS

Giant panda Ding Ding lifts its cub with teeth in an enclosure at the Moscow Zoo in the capital Moscow, Russia, in this picture released August 30. Female giant panda Ding Ding recently gave birth to a cub, as the first-ever panda offspring was born in Russia. The cub's parents, Ding Ding and male giant panda Ru Yi, were lent by China to the Moscow Zoo in 2019 for 15 years as part of a joint research project. Moscow Zoo/Handout via REUTERS