--- title: The 22 Most Surprising Photos of the Month description: TIME shares the most outrageous images this month. From dogs suckling tiger cubs to earthquake skaters, each photograph will surprise you. canonical: https://time.com/3197626/surprising-photos-month/ author: Phil Bicker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-30T18:14:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:28.753Z og:title: The 22 Most Surprising Photos of the Month og:description: TIME shares the most outrageous images this month. From dogs suckling tiger cubs to earthquake skaters, each photograph will surprise you. og:url: https://time.com/3197626/surprising-photos-month/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ad47e9cefd58dc8/6986a1251eebf750843726b3/043526961.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: High waves hitting the Qiantang River bank og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 22 Most Surprising Photos of the Month twitter:description: TIME shares the most outrageous images this month. From dogs suckling tiger cubs to earthquake skaters, each photograph will surprise you. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ad47e9cefd58dc8/6986a1251eebf750843726b3/043526961.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 22 Most Surprising Photos of the Month by [Phil Bicker](/author/phil-bicker/) ## Phil Bicker Aug 30, 2014 6:14 PM CUT  Tide spectators react to a high wave hitting the bank of Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Aug. 13, 2014. Tide spectators react to a high wave hitting the bank of Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Aug. 13, 2014.Xu Kangping—EPA by [Phil Bicker](/author/phil-bicker/) ## Phil Bicker Aug 30, 2014 6:14 PM CUT  A dead whale shark, caught by local fishermen, is transported on a tractor in a seafood wholesale market, in Xiangzhi township in Quanzhou, east China's Fujian province, Aug. 1, 2014. Stringer—AFP/Getty Images  Students of Shaolin Tagou Martial Arts School are suspended in mid-air as they rehearse a segment of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Aug. 14, 2014. Donald Chan—Reuters  A Chinese girl wears a face-kini, a locally designed mask worn by local women to protect them from jellyfish stings, algae and the sun's ultraviolet rays, on the Yellow Sea in Qingdao, China, Aug. 21, 2014. Kevin Frayer—Getty Images  Fireworks streak past in front of the supermoon outside the town of Mosta, in central Malta, in celebration of the feast of its patron saint, Aug. 10, 2014. Darrin Zammit Lup  People sit in front of a 50ft inflatable whale erected on the beach by the Bible Society on Aug. 27, 2014 in Weston-Super-Mare, England. Matt Cardy—Getty Images  A young bull elk stands behind a window in an administration building of Siemens in Dresden, Germany, Aug. 25, 2014. Arno Burgi—EPA  A bird, thrown by Hindu worshippers, flies over the crater of mount Bromo during the Yadnya Kasada Festival on Aug. 12, 2014 in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. Ulet Ifansasti—Getty Images  The shaven-head of a Nepalese man following a blessing of rice and a leaf from a priest, during Nepal's Father's Day at Gokarneswor Shrine, near Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 25, 2014. Narendra Shrestha—EPA  A lone house is seen at the construction site of an urban transformation project in Fikirtepe, Istanbul, Aug. 14, 2014. Murad Sezer—Reuters  A female dog feeds two-day-old tiger cubs and her puppy at a zoo in Hefei, Anhui province, China, Aug. 22, 2014. Jianan Yu—Reuters  An elephant swims in an indoor pool at the Leipzig Zoo, Germany, Aug. 5, 2014. Jens Meyer—AP  A man tries to grab a flag as he slips off the "gostra", a pole covered in grease, during the week-long celebrations for the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta, Malta, Aug. 24, 2014. Darrin Zammit Lupi—Reuters  A young man, his body drenched with used motor oil, poses for a photo during festivities honoring patron saint Santo Domingo de Guzman, in Managua, Nicaragua, Aug. 1, 2014. Esteban Felix—AP  Shannon Gardiner of South Africa competes in Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual All-Around Qualification on day ten of the Nanjing 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, Aug. 26, 2014. Feng Li—Getty Images  Tide spectators react to a high wave hitting the bank of Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Aug. 13, 2014. Xu Kangping—EPA  A cat wearing a ribbon with the Ukrainian national flag sits near a tank at a Ukrainian checkpoint in the town of Avdeevka, near Donetsk, Ukraine, Aug. 22, 2014. Roman Pilipey—EPA  A sea of ceramic poppies, each representing a British or Colonial military fatality in the First World War, surround the Tower of London at the opening of 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' by Paul Cummins, London, Aug. 5, 2014. Paul Brown—Demotix/Corbis  Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and boys cover their bodies with mineral-rich mud at a Men's only beach on the shores of the northern part of the Dead Sea on Aug. 17, 2014, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Menahem Kahana—AFP/Getty Images  A rabbit sniffs around the rubble following a massive earthquake in the town of Longtoushan in Ludian County in southwest China's Yunnan Province, Aug. 5, 2014. Andy Wong—AP  A Furry enthusiast uses a mobile phone as he attends the Eurofurence 2014 conference on Aug. 22, 2014 in Berlin. Adam Berry—Getty Images  Elderly Indian wrestler, Ram Gopal performs during a bout of traditional wrestling organized at the historical Loknath Vyayamsala (Fitness Center) on the occasion of Nag Panchami, in Allahabad on Aug. 1, 2014. Sanjay Kanojia—AFP/Getty Images  Skateboarder Chris Young, 22, launches himself off a buckled sidewalk in Napa, Calif., following an earthquake on Aug. 24, 2014. 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