All living beings are on Earth for a reason, from the tiniest insects to the greatest mammals—and all their habitats are connected. To preserve their existence, we must protect biodiversity: it is our duty to unite and defend animal rights to keep celebrating the wonder of our natural world.

Free-to-use mobile app Agora challenged international photographers to participate in the #Animals2020 photo contest with their best shots of living creatures around the planet.

Agora launched the #Animals2020 photo contest on August 28th. Photographers had until September 11th to participate and share their best photos of all kinds of living beings for the chance to be selected in the Top 50 finalists and make it to the voting phase. As a result, 13,888 photos of all kinds of animals were submitted to the contest, showing the wide and precious variety of animal life surrounding us.

"Photography is a powerful medium to generate empathy and a deeper understanding of the world surrounding us. Only one species living on Earth can choose what the future will look like, and that species is us!" said Octavi Royo, Agora's CEO and Co-Founder.

Congratulations to Indonesian photographer @jjnmatt whose photo ‘Iguana’ gathered the most votes on the Agora app, making him the #Animals2020 Hero and granting him the top prize of $1,000.

Let us know in the comments which pictures you like the best and why!

More info: agoraimages.com | Instagram | twitter.com | youtube.com

#1 Winner: Iguana

Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

"The iguana conveys the beauty and uniqueness of nature."

@jjnmatt (Indonesia)

#2 Devotion

Location: Armenian Church, Old Dhaka, Bangladesh

"My friend and I were chatting on the forecourt of the church. I noticed this dog lying on his master's grave. Immediately I went home to look for my camera and, with the permission of the church officials, took the picture."

@saiful0007 (Bangladesh)

#3 Motherlove

Location: Australia

@olmospatricia (Spain)

#4 Encounter At Our Campsite

Location: Kamchatka, Russia

"We spent a few days visiting the volcano Tolbachik during our expedition in Kamchatka. After dinner, suddenly this fox appeared at our camp. It was so curious, so peaceful and friendly. It showed up, watched us, and went away to play in the ashes. It was such a surprising, unexpected and exciting moment that really hit my heart. I want to show the beauty of Mother Nature with these amazing patterns and show this peaceful wild fox and the heartwarming feeling I had at this moment."

@hi.jewi (Germany)

#5 Family

Location: Surin, Thailand

"The province of Surin is well-known for its elephants. Traveling to this province would be incomplete without a visit to the Ban Ta Klang Elephant village. I wanted to show how the elephants have become symbols of beauty, grace and elegance despite their gigantic size."

@mannylibrodo (Philippines)

#6 Baby Monkey

Location: Kedoya Utara, Indonesia

@prabuds (Indonesia)

#7 Focused

Location: Germany

"I often go to the local wild park to practice wildlife photography. It is impossible to discover a lynx in the wild in my region. Therefore, I was very happy to have the opportunity to see this majestic and beautiful animal in the mentioned park. I was impressed by the sharp eyes of the lynx. On this day there was snow and it was very cold, the park was almost empty. Although the lynx's enclosure is limited, they are very mysterious creatures and do not show themselves every day. I found a place to sit down in the empty park and waited with my thick down jacket on sitting and lying on the ground. It took me almost 2 hours to spark the lynx attention and he slowly came towards my direction. The moment I took the photo I had the feeling of having direct eye contact with the lynx. That feeling really sent shivers down my spine. With this photo, I wanted to evoke the same feeling and emotion I had. The viewer should have the impression of making direct eye contact with this beautiful creature. At this point in my story, I want to give credit to all the real wildlife photographers out there. I have huge respect for the time and knowledge they invest into their work and passion. I think these parks are a good opportunity to practice shooting but you should always mention that the photos were taken in a park and not out in the wild. Otherwise, it delivers a wrong perception of the work, dedication, time, and passion that goes into photographing wild animals in their wild habitat."

@leo.wies (Germany)

#8 Bear Crossing

Location: Division No. 15, Canada

"Doesn’t get much more Canadian than this!"

@blakehobson (Canada)

#9 Anemonefish

Location: Sipadan Island, Malaysia

"Sipadan Island is a natural marine park where life thrives. When I was looking at an anemone, this family of clownfish seemed to pose for the camera."

@alexdemartin (Spain)

#10 Arctic Fox

Location: Iceland

"I went looking for this little one for days, when suddenly through the glass of the car and I saw it perched on a slope. I ran and lay a meter from it while I was eating, that's how I managed to catch this magnificent moment."

@photoepb (Spain)

#11 Misty Heather Field In Full Bloom

Location: Laren, Netherlands

"Every year brings the heather blooming season. This year was even more special as the fields were covered with a thick layer of fog and a highland cattle strolled through."

@glennanthonie (Netherlands)

#12 Fierce

Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

"Here's a majestic Sumatran Tiger wandering in the morning sunlight. Sometimes, you just need to be patient and wait for the right moment."

@pitokung (Indonesia)

#13 The Barn Owl Has Landed

Location: Northumberland, UK

@philrobson (UK)

#14 Into The Darkness

Location: Dobbiaco Lake, Italy

"The swan is the light breaking through the darkness."

@alan_gallo (Italy)

#15 All The Shades Of Blue

Location: Gili Meno, Indonesia

"I wanted to capture my appreciation and love for the ocean, the beauty of the underwater world and the importance of protecting our oceans. We went to Gili Meno just with our camera gear so we had to rent the snorkeling gear. Our feet were full of blisters and bleeding, we were fighting a strong current but we just couldn't resist the beauty of the ocean. The water was so clear, there were so many turtles, the lighting was perfect, and no one around. Definitely, a dive to remember!"

@makyandmatt (Czech Republic)

#16 Caballos

Location: Asturias, Spain

"We found these horses during a family road trip with my family along the Asturian coast. With my photo, I wanted to transmit the feeling of protection and love."

@mariafcabaleiro (Spain)

#17 Mother Bekantan

Location: Cisarua, Indonesia

@irawansubingar (Indonesia)

#18 Freshwater

Location: Kebun binatang Taman Satwa Jurug, Indonesia

"Jurug Zoo is a popular destination for our local community and is often used for educational purposes for students to introduce animals and the environment."

@cymot (Indonesia)

#19 Madoda King

Location: Gondwana Game Reserve, South Africa

"Lions can be perfect models too!"

@frenchcliche (South Africa)

#20 Young Panda

Location: Breeding Panda Center, Chengdu, China

"It was a rainy day without many pandas walking around. What could I do, impossible to force a wild animal to show up or to pose! I was already grateful to visit this place and support those wonderful animals. Suddenly, the young panda went out from the forest. This was the best moment I remember and I was glad I could have captured it in my camera."

@polatina (Poland)

#21 With Mom

Location: Waykambas National Park, Indonesia

"I took this photo in the morning when dozens of elephants were being fed by the nursing staff in the national park."

@sofyanefendi (Indonesia)

#22 Close Encounter

Location: Chamonix, France

"I was so happy to spot my first ibex. After hiking for an hour and a half, I began to doubt I would see any. Literally one minute later, at the bend of a large rock, he was there, grazing his grass quietly right next to me!"

@onkwelphoto (France)

#23 Reach The Winter

Location: Mongolia

"It was the end of the autumn season, you can tell how pleased the reindeer was with the snow falling again."

@dangthao (Japan)

#24 Wolves

Location: Montreal, Canada

@spanikar (Canada)

#25 Icelandic

Location: Kirkjufell, Iceland

"We were walking in circles close to the famous mountains when a group of Icelandic started running in our direction. As soon as they came closer, they stopped to let us take a shot and then disappeared. The beauty of the country is not only fire and ice but also the animals who live there."

@samuelemiccoli (Italy)

#26 Lioness Pride

Location: Etosha, Namibia

"The subject of this series of pictures is the biggest lion pride I have seen during my African trips, probably 30 members between cubs, lionesses, and 2 males. Doing a safari requires a lot of patience and also some luck. You might think it’s really easy to spot animals, but it’s not. It was truly a movie scene and especially my heart melted when I saw the lionesses walking towards us, aligning in the perfect composition. Lionesses are the core of the pride since they are responsible for hunting and raising the cubs. Like more than 5.000 other mammal-species, lions prides are founded as a matriarchal society. If you are on a safari, try to spot the lionesses first as the most exciting actions tend to happen around them."

@freeilli (Italy)

#27 Orangutan

Location: Tanjung, Indonesia

@adingkuswara (Indonesia)

#28 Chimp

Location: Sevilla zoo, Spain

"This chimp was enjoying breakfast when suddenly, he stopped eating and looked at me like a model who was posing for a shooting session."

@mohamedtazi (Morroco)

#29 Newborn Labradoodle Puppy

Location: Dublin, Ireland

"Our family dog (Australian Labradoodle) had a litter of puppies 2 days prior to the photo being taken. We have 2 small children (2 and 4 at the time) who were so excited and eagerly waited for the whelping to take place. They looked after her throughout her pregnancy, sang her songs, and were reassuring the dog everything will be ok. When the puppies came the excitement was amazing to witness but the puppies were too small for them to touch. So my husband placed one sleeping puppy in his palms and brought it closer for the girls the see. They sang lullabies and he just held the puppy for them. It looked so peaceful and content. These puppies grew up in our kitchen with the constant care and attention of our children and ourselves before they went to loving homes. A lot of my photos focus on the bond between small children and their pets, the love, care, and affection that goes both ways."

@Silvija_Collins (Ireland)

#30 Little Tiger

Location: Chongqing, China

"He just looked like a little tiger, so majestic!"

@johnnydee (China)

#31 Mosca Descansando En Un Cactus

Location: Parque de La Paloma, Benalmádena, Malaga, Andalucía, España

"I went out with my two-and-a-half-year-old son to escape this whole pandemic situation for a brief moment. As always, with my camera in hand. Suddenly, I saw that my son was looking at something with insistence. He likes insects a lot, so I got closer and saw this blowfly resting on a small cactus flower. I was carried away by the emotion of my son. In this photo, I realized that the small details are what really matter."

@lafotodeeva (Spain)

#32 Puffin Close Up

Location: Smoker Island, Wales, UK

"I love wildlife and wildlife photography with a passion I wanted to capture unique, powerful portrait of a puffin this was caught my eye and stood tall for perfect puffin portrait."

@hb_photography (UK)

#33 Shadow Game

Location: Finland

"There were several deers walking on the road. They ignored dozens of cars passing by."

@borsch (Russia)

#34 Give It To Me

Location: Jaipur, India

"The rhesus macaque's typical diet consists of roots, fruits, seeds, and bark, but also insects and small animals."

@beyond_imagina (India)

#35 Privilege Witness

Location: Machu Picchu, Peru

"Walking all over this unique landmark I came up with this llama resting peacefully on the grass. In such a crowded tourist destination, I was lucky to find this cute animal on a quiet, empty spot with no one interrupting this powerful moment connecting with nature. Sometimes llamas tend to have aggressive behavior when bothered. However, this friend seemed to be waiting for me to immortalize this moment. She posed like a pro model, with no complaints whatsoever before, during or after the shooting. I stood by for a while afterwards, simply contemplating this gift from nature. Just a llama and me in Machu Picchu."

@josuozkaritz (Spain)

#36 A Tower Of Giraffe

Location: Imire Rhino & Wildlife Conservation, Zimbabwe

"Shooting wildlife can be challenging. The unpredictability of animals makes it both incredibly frustrating, and hugely rewarding. Often you’ll witness something spectacular, and by the time you’ve brought your camera to your eye, it’s over. Having said that, I’m grateful these giraffes were kind enough to stand still long enough for me to capture this picture-perfect moment, lining up perfectly with the tree in the background, adding to the overall composition."

@_kennyc_ (UK)

#37 Highland Cow

Location: UK

"Have you ever seen a white highland cow before? It’s not very often you get to witness an unusual coloured animal, especially when the breed of a highland cow is generally a dark ginger/ dark colour. It was amazing to witness the cow placed in the center, looking so obedient and stern with the others behind. I think the moral of this shot is no matter how unusual you or something may look, you are bound to stand out from the rest of the crowd... (This is never a bad thing) embrace that and don’t let anybody tell you any different."

@above_and_beyond_visuals (UK)

#38 Honor Fight

Location: Indonesia

@jordisark (Spain)

#39 Horses

Location: Iran

@bahrambayat (Iran)

#40 Moment

Location: Quang Ngai, VietNam

"I have 2 wishes that I've always aimed for: one is to gather all beautiful images of my province, Quang Ngai, and share them with the world. I want to protect and preserve not only the beautiful scenes in my homeland but also the wildlife that is being hunted and consumed terribly."

@alexcao (Vietnam)

#41 What Are You Looking At?

Location: South Korea

"I was very happy that this plant finally bloomed to tell if it was a poisonous plant or not, and seeing bees coming and going, I knew it was a flower with a lot of pollen. The Fischers Ragwort is a popular delicacy herb that Koreans like to eat during springtime. It is almost the same as a Marsh Marigold, which is a poisonous plant, causing deaths every year."

@kyunghwalee (South Korea)

#42 Friends

Location: Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana

"Sometimes we are so focused on seeking the beauty of big things that we lose sight of the wonder that hides in small things. We spent several hours waiting for the lions, in the Reserve, next to the pan: the sun was almost setting and we just wanted to take some pictures of the king, before it was too dark. There were zebras and gazelles near the pan, but no trace of lions. At a certain time a small bird caught my attention: it was on the back of the zebra, and he was chirping loudly. At a certain time a small bird caught my attention: it was on the back of the zebra, and he was chirping loudly. I took that picture. Lions never came. Sometimes we are so focused on seeking the beauty of big things that we lose sight of the wonder that hides in small things."

@superiaia (Italy)

#43 Mother And Her Young

Location: Berkeley Deer Park, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK

"I wanted to capture the bond and close connection a fawn has with its mother."

@danrose (UK)

#44 Calf And Mother

Location: Quang Binh, Vietnam

"I got to the beach about half an hour before sunset and spotted a herd of cows wandering around the beach. I got chased while trying to take my shot!"

@nateqpham (Vietnam)

#45 Curious Seal

Location: Vancouver, Canada

"The seal was laying on a rock, enjoying the afternoon sunshine. There was a trail going down from the cliff to the beach, and whenever there were people around, the seal often just check them out."

@adventureahead (USA)

#46 Farmers

Location: Murtosa, Portugal

"Here is farmer Silvina with her Black turkey, which was brought to Portugal about 500 years ago when Spanish discoverers returned from their first forays into Central America. During their discoveries, they found that the Aztecs had 2 kinds of pets: the black turkey, and the dog. The Spaniards were amazed by this giant bird. In Europe, 500 years ago, you couldn't find a bird that size. Even before bringing back the gold, they brought the birds back home in the boats; it turned out that the dominant montane agro-ecosystem in the Iberian peninsula provided exactly what turkeys needed. From Spain, they passed very easily and quickly to Portugal where the tradition was kept alive until today, more than 500 years later."

@jorgebacelar (Portugal)

#47 Humpback Whale Breaching

Location: Mooloolaba, Australia

"I go whale watching at least once every year. The whale migration season here lasts normally from June to October, during which time you can watch whales from the shores or out in the ocean from boats. It’s amazing watching these gentle giants going about their own business. And quite often they will also take a keen interest in finding out more about us when they come really close up to check us out. Never fails to amaze me!"

@reneliniger (Australia)

#48 Swimming

Location: Santa Cruz, California, USA

"I was walking on a bridge when I spotted this group of seals."

@nikopictures (France)

#49 An Eagle Hunting

Location: Kruger National Park, South Africa

@joeshellyy (UK)

#50 Winter Swim