Opening a shutter on the world

STRUTTING HER STUFF: Ye Ye, a 16-year-old giant panda, lounges in a massive wild enclosure at a conservation centre in Wolong Nature Reserve. Her 2-year-old cub, Hua Yan (“Pretty Girl”) was released into the wild after two years of “panda training”. Her name, whose characters represent Japan and China, celebrates the friendship between the two nations. This work won second prize in the Nature Stories category.Picture: AMI VITALE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

STRUTTING HER STUFF: Ye Ye, a 16-year-old giant panda, lounges in a massive wild enclosure at a conservation centre in Wolong Nature Reserve. Her 2-year-old cub, Hua Yan (“Pretty Girl”) was released into the wild after two years of “panda training”. Her name, whose characters represent Japan and China, celebrates the friendship between the two nations. This work won second prize in the Nature Stories category.Picture: AMI VITALE/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

HUNT: A wild leopard strolls through Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a protected area in the northern part of Mumbai city, India, on September 24 last year. The leopard is on its nocturnal prowl in the adjacent human settlements in search of food, which in these areas is typically dogs or pigs. This image won second prize in the singles, Nature category.

Picture: NAYAN KHANOLKAR

POACHING HORROR: A black rhino bull is seen dead, poached for its horns less than 8 hours earlier at Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, KZN, South Africa. It is suspected that the killers came from a local community approximately 5km away,shooting the rhino at a water hole with a silenced hunting rifle. An autopsy later revealed massive tissue damage. It was noted that the rhino did not die immediately, but ran a short distance, fell to its knees and a coup de grâce shot was administered to the head from close range. This work won first prize in the Nature Stories category.Picture: BRENT STIRTON/GETTY IMAGES

POLLUTION: A sea turtle entangled in a fishing net swims off the coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on June 8 last year. Sea turtles are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Unattended fishing gear is responsible for many sea turtle deaths. This image won first prize in the singles, Nature category.

Picture: FRANCIS PÈREZ

DANGEROUS CROSSING: A woman is supported by two men while crossing a river, as refugees attempt to reach Macedonia on a route that would bypass the border fence. Hundreds of refugees walked out of an overcrowded camp on the Greek-Macedonian border on this day, shortly after the closure of Macedonia’s borders, determined to head north despite the dangers of the crossing. The image won second prize in the singles, Contemporary Issues category.Picture: VADIM GHIRDA