There's Always One

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Photograph by Yashani Shantha
National Geographic

Elephants at the elephant orphanage in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka. The orphanage was originally founded in order to afford care and protection to the many orphaned elephants found in the jungle. As of 2003, there were 65 elephants. Since the captive breeding program was launched in 1982, over 20 elephants have been born. The aim of the orphanage is to simulate the natural world. However, there are some exceptions: The elephants are taken to the river twice daily for a bath, and all the babies under three years of age are still bottle fed by the mahouts and volunteers.

Imperiled Rhino

Photograph by Richard Young
National Geographic

Zimbabwe's Matopos National Park had 86 white and 36 black rhinos ten years ago. Poachers have reduced these numbers to only 9 white 17 black rhinos today. These numbers say it all. The park's oldest white rhino, Gumboot, was killed by poachers just two weeks before I took this picture of Swazi 2, his horn cut off to help protect him from poaching. If we do not act now to save them from poaching, we will be the generation responsible for the extinction of the rhino in the wild.

Deer, Richmond Park

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Photograph by Prashant Meswani
National Geographic

This was taken in early morning at Richmond Park in late October.

Reflection, Hungary

Photograph by Zsolt Szabo
National Geographic

Misty summer photo, Nagykanizsa, Hungary.

Eastern Screech Owlets

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Photograph by Graham McGeorge
National Geographic

Eastern screech owls like to take over woodpecker nests that have been dug out over the years in pine trees, which are the main species of tree at this swamp. The Fish and Wildlife Service also paints a white ring around the base of a tree that has active nests so they will be avoided when conducting controlled burns. Screech owls can range in height anywhere from eight to ten inches, so you have to have a sharp eye to find these little birds of prey.

I spent the first few weeks of April this year photographing the gray morph screech owl that was living in the nest and had no idea there were three owlets inside.

Seagulls, Alaska

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Photograph by Court Leve

National Geographic

This image was taken while flying in a helicopter from Juneau, Alaska, to Cordova, Alaska. The four-hour flight routes through some of the most desolate areas of Alaska, including what is known as the Lost Coast. We were flying at elevations up to 15,000 feet near the Fairweather Range when my pilot wanted to then follow the coastline. As we turned the corner, the beach below was filled with what seemed to be millions of seagulls. The noise from the helicopter spooked the birds and wave after wave of gulls took flight below us. It was somewhat mesmerizing.

Winter Layers

Photograph by Paul Nicklen
National Geographic

Having gorged on salmon to lay on fat for hibernation, a grizzly wears a coat of ice in Canada's Yukon.

Cheetah, Serengeti

Photograph by Eva Liang

A gazelle's blood stained the cheetah's mouth. Taken in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, Africa.

Swans, Slovakia

Photograph by Norbert Nemes

Swans and ducks, Piešťany, Slovakia

Penguin Pair, Antarctica

Photograph by Marius Ilies

I took this picture at Port Lockroy during my trip to Antartica in 2010. The two penguins almost touching flippers, looking at each other, and captured against the majestic frozen background, seemed romantically involved.

Starlings, United Kingdom

Photograph by John O Neill

A flock of starlings takes flight at the moment of shutter release. These social birds were declining over the past few years in the U.K., but the numbers appear to be stabilizing. They can flock in such huge numbers that they have been known to break the boughs of trees while roosting.

Leopard, Okavango Delta

Photograph by Beverly Joubert

A leopard sits in an ancient baobab tree in Botswana's Okavango Delta, a seasonal oasis for wild things above and below the water's surface.

Cassowary, Australia

Photograph by Christian Ziegler

A cassowary peers through foliage in northeast Queensland, Australia. Females like this one can weigh 160 pounds. No one knows what the casque on her head is for, but it could be a sexual ornament.

Snake Charmer, China

Photograph by Wesley Thomas Wong

A snake charmer performs with his pet snake during a spring festival in China.

Razorfish, Kimbe Bay

Photograph by David Doubllet

Sharp bellied and nearly flat, razorfish swim in perfect formation as they rush for cover among the branches of a red sea whip. Says Doubilet: “It’s gratifying to see that wonders still abound in Kimbe Bay.”

Lions, Serengeti

Photograph by Michael Nichols

For male Serengeti lions like Hildur and C-Boy, teamwork is essential. Here, Hildur shakes the rain from his mane. He and C-Boy work together to retain control over two prides: the Vumbi, consisting of five adult lionesses, and Simba East, a pride now also with five.

Lions, Serengeti

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Photograph by Michael Nichols

Dusk is a busy time for the Vumbi pride. As the moon rises, the lionesses rouse themselves from their afternoon naps, tussle in the grass, and set out on the evening hunt. Nichols made this photo using natural light; soon after, he switched to infrared.

Red Pandas, Lincoln Children's Zoo

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Twin three-month-old red pandas (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) huddle together at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Sartore photographed the pair as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species.

"Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."

Alligator, Okefenokee Swam

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Photograph by Melissa Farlow

An alligator walks in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia.

Greater One-Horned (Indian) Rhinoceroses, Fort Worth Zoo

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Four-month-old Asha (Hope in Hindi) will stick close to its mother for up to two years. In zoos and in the wild, this rhino species is growing in numbers.

Sartore photographed the rhinoceroses as part of his Photo Ark project, through which he is documenting thousands of rare species. "Half of all the species on Earth could be headed irreversibly toward extinction by 2100. Not if I can help it," Sartore says. "That's the idea behind the Photo Ark: getting the public to look these creatures in the eye, then care enough to save them while there's still time."