2012: Weird and wonderful pictures

28 December 2012

News image — Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde won acclaim for creating clouds in empty rooms with a fog machine. (Courtesy: Berndnaut Smilde and Ronchini Gallery)

Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde won acclaim for creating clouds in empty rooms with a fog machine. (Courtesy: Berndnaut Smilde and Ronchini Gallery)

Some of the year's more off-the-wall pictures, including a clever otter, football-playing whales... oh, and men dressed as pandas...

More amazing image galleries of the year:

A year in space

The year in technology

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Human body

Animal

Anthropology

Rare images of Europe's 'ghost cat'

Wildcats are so elusive, they were thought to be extinct in parts of Europe. But they are making a comeback in some areas.

14 Jan 2026

8 Jan 2026

A dark gecko sits on bright leafy vegetation (Credit: Alejandra Arana)

The animals saved in ancient accidental 'arks'

Shielded from development and agriculture, many archaeological sites from ancient Greece have now become inadvertent safe harbours for plants and animals.

8 Jan 2026

22 Dec 2025

A male gobbleguts fish with his mouth full of eggs (Credit: Daniel Sly/ OPY)

The best nature photos of 2025

From acrobatic gorillas to maritime lions and fluorescent plants, here are the most eye-catching shots of the natural world from 2025.

22 Dec 2025

19 Dec 2025

Dian Fossey smiling as she sits beside a young gorilla named Poppy (Credit: Ian Redmond)

The woman who gave her life to save the gorillas

Dian Fossey transformed our view of mountain gorillas while fighting to save them. But she was also a flawed obsessive whose murder remains a mystery to this day.

19 Dec 2025

9 Dec 2025

Galapagos sharks and silky sharks gather near an underwater baited camera (Credit AIG Conservation Dept)

The 'shark mountains' hidden in the sea

Under the surface of the ocean, "constellations" of towering subsea mountains dot the Earth – and they are teeming with sharks.

9 Dec 2025

2012: Weird and wonderful pictures

Sports betting is now everywhere. Is that dangerous?

Inside the search for South America's most cryptic bird

US futures slide as tariff fears trigger sell‑off

Morocco fossil finds re-write the origins of our species

Arnold Schwarzenegger goes big on Christmas

Lina Ghotmeh on crafting the future from the past

Karl Ove Knausgård: The writer who broke the rules

The lab recreating melting glaciers to forecast sea levels

Goldman Sachs' and Morgan Stanley's results beat expectation

Why Atlanta's culinary scene is getting food lovers excited

Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi speaks to the BBC

The undersea mountains where sharks rule

Expert says probe into Fed chair is 'political theatre'

What's it like to meet your own avatar?

A simple stargazing ritual to reset stress

Trump expects huge investment in Venezuela

How Tom Hiddleston's dad became his biggest cheerleader

Wall Street weighs impact of Venezuela turmoil

Olsen and Teller talk British phrases they don't understand

Global financial caution over recent US capture

Rare images of Europe's 'ghost cat'

The animals saved in ancient accidental 'arks'

The best nature photos of 2025

The woman who gave her life to save the gorillas

The 'shark mountains' hidden in the sea