Berlin, Germany Tobias Schwarz/Getty
Elephants play with Christmas trees at the Zoologischer Garten Zoo in Berlin
It's a tradition at Tierpark Zoo in Berlin to feed the elephants Christmas trees that have been left unsold during the winter holidays. During a New Years lunch celebration, each elephant eats about 5 trees which contain sweet resin and are high in vitamins and other nutrients. One zoo official speculated that an antioxidant compound in the pine oil might aid digestion. The elephants share this treat with camels, deer and sheep.
—Manny Howard, deputy editor
Innsbruck, Austria Matthias Schrader/AP
Skier Markus Eisenpichler practices his jumps at the third stage of the 65th four hills ski jumping tournament
Ski jumping is a criminally underrated sport. To be clear, I know literally next to nothing about it. But I still appreciate it for how it combines the wholesome fun of Alpine winter sports with the screaming terror of careening towards the earth with nothing to save you except the fickle laws of aerodynamics. Any athletic activity that features gruesome injury and/or death as the penalty for slightly flawed execution is worth our attention and admiration.
—Simon Maloy, politics writer
Budapest, Hungary Attila Kisbenedek/Getty
A baby giraffe born on January 1st is pictured at the 'Giraffe House' at the Zoo and Botanic Garden in Budapest
This baby giraffe was born on Jan. 1 this year — further proof that 2017 might be a little better than 2016. Is anything cuter than an innocent calf? Nope! And he's a lucky lil guy since he was born in Budapest and not in America, which will implode in approx. 20 days.
—Tatiana Baez, social media coordinator
Mediterranean Sea Yannis Behrakis/Reuters
A crowded raft loses control while floating in the central Mediterranean Sea, roughly 36 nautical miles off the coast of Libya
More than 100 people — including two pregnant women and five children — were rescued from an overcrowded, out of control raft floating off the Libyan coast January 2. Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms helped safely ferry the group of African migrants, who are increasingly using Libya as a departure point to Europe.
—Jessica Lipsky, cover editor
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