Morley Read / Slow motion clip of a large group of Butterflies (Pieridae) taking flight after puddling, absorbing nutrients or minerals from damp soil, Orellana Province, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Large group of Butterflies (Pieridae) taking flight after puddling, absorbing nutrients or minerals from damp soil, Orellana Province, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Lucas Bustamante / Jaguar (Panthera onca) standing in mud, Yasuni National Park, Orellana, Ecuador

John Chan / California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) roosting on a mudflat, with a flock of Elegant terns (Thalasseus elegans) nearby, Southern California, USA May/2019

John Shaw / Brown bear (Ursus arctos) searching for clams on tidal mudflat with waterbirds. Lake Clark National Park, Alaska. August.

Shane Gross / Larval flounder (possibly Laeops Kitahara) in the open ocean at night off Anilao, Philippines.

Georgette Douwma / Boxer Crab (Lybia tessellata) with sea anemones in its claws for defense. Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Yashpal Rathore / Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) dominant male (T29) walking on mud dam wall. Kanha National Park, Central India. Camera trap image.

Milan Radisics / Aerial shot of dead trees encrusted in mud in a dry artificial lake, polluted by extractive mining operations, Minas de Riotinto, Andalusia, Spain, January 2019.

Will Burrard-Lucas / Black and white image of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) mud bathing, Tsavo Conservation Area, Kenya. Editorial use only.

Tui De Roy / Volcan Alcedo Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra vandenburghi) group wallowing in mud at night, Alcedo Volcano, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Tui De Roy / Volcan Alcedo Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra vandenburghi) group wallowing in mud at night, Alcedo Volcano, Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador