【Triple Play episode 5 season 1 - Joe and Mandi】

It's stunning to see wild animals up close — especially when they're caught in the beauty of their natural surroundings.

Agora,Triple Play episode 5 season 1 - Joe and Mandi a photo app, challenged its users to submit their best animal pics of 2020, to be voted on by their users. The most popular snap would earn its photographer $1,000. With some serious scratch on the line, Agora said it received 13,888 submissions displaying the "precious variety of animal life surrounding us."

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

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The big winner ended up being an image of an iguana taken by the user @jjnmatt. Below you'll find that image, plus the other finalists, and a few of our favorites to enjoy.

The winning image. Credit: @jjnmatt / agora

The second, third, fourth, and fifth place finishers — as seen below — were also pretty amazing.

This top-five photo capture a family of elephants. Credit: @mannylibrodo / Agora Titled "Honor Fight," this image couldn't have been better timed. Credit: @jordisark / agora This photo of a reindeer is so gorgeous it hardly looks real. Credit: @dangthao / Agora Stunning image a cattle trotting through a field of heather in bloom. Credit: @glennanthonie / Agora

That rounds out the top five slots in the Agora contest, but we couldn't help including a few of our other favorites from the Top 50. Here are 10 more pictures of animals we really loved.

Look at this chimp, posing like it knows what's up. Credit: @mohamedtazi / Agora OK, this photo is beautiful but I also feel like the photographer shouldn't have stuck around to take it. Credit: @pitokung / Agora This is just cool. Credit: @alan_gallo / Agora Unbearably cute. Credit: @olmospatricia / Agora A big ol' orangutan. Credit: @adingkuswara / Agora This photo was titled "Shadow Game" for obvious reasons. Credit: @borsch / agora This Icelandic horse is fashionable as hell. Credit: @samuelemiccoli / Agora An adorable rhesus macaque wants a snack. Credit: @beyond_imagina / Agora Sea turtles are so dope. Credit: @makyandmatt / Agora This picture was titled "Friends." Get it? Credit: @superiaia / Agora

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