Alpha male golden snub-nosed monkey - Rhinopithecus roxellana - sits confidently on a rock and observes the surroundings in the  mountainous forests of central China. Their Chinese name is Sichuan golden hair monkey or Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout the country. The males may stay solitary, often remaining away from the rest of the group members as they rest.

The golden snub-nosed monkey is found in groups ranging in size from 5-10 individuals to bands of about 600. Their social organization can be quite complex. They form large foraging groups that consist of multi-male and multi-female societies.

Happy days: Love you too, daddy ! Golden snub-nosed monkey family: mother, father and baby sitting together while baby touches the face of the father with its hand. This photo has received an Honorable Mention in the 13th Annual International Color Awards in 2020 in the Category Wildlife.

Before night falls on the tiny island of Helgoland, a Northern gannet (Morus bassanus) is going to rest on the steep cliffs and starts grooming its feathers in the soft evening light.

Northern gannet covering up his head with his feathers before going to rest for the night.

A leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) catches an Adelie penguin in the icy waters off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula near Gourdin Island. Leopard seals - also called sea leopards - are the second largest species of seals in Antarctica. Their latin name "Hydrurga" means "water worker". They patrol the waters near the edges of the ice, almost completely submerged, and wait for a penguin to enter the ocean. The leopard seal then grabs its prey and kills it by shaking the penguin vigorously and beating it against the surface of the water repeatedly.

Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) can only be found on the Antarctic coast. They are one of the most southernly living of all seabird species. After they were first discovered in 1840, they were named after the wife of a French explorer, hence the name Adelie. Their swimming speed mounts up to an eight km per hour.

South Georgia, Salisbury Plain, King penguin chicks (Aptenodytes patagonicus) in profile. During the first thirty to fourty days of their lives the chicks stay in close vicinity to and under the guarding of their parents. After that period, the chicks have grown much bigger, and at that time a king penguin chick can keep itself warm and protect itself against most predators.  

They then form a group with other chicks, also called crèches. These penguin crèches are guarded by only a few adult king penguins, while the other birds go out to forage at sea. By that time the chicks become more curious and start to explore their surroundings.

Here on South Georgia, like this one, the chicks of the king penguins are very inquisitive and observant when it comes to visitors.

Two elephant seal pups (Mirounga leonina) playfighting on the beach of Gold Harbor, South Georgia. When they grow up, these fightings get more serious. Territorial fights between adult male elephant seals include inflicting bites through their thick seal skin. These two adult males started a fight in the water next to a shipwreck in the old Harbour of Grytviken,  South Georgia. The fight ended undecided with one of the males retreating to open waters.