A young emperor penguin jumps off a 50-foot cliff for its first swim.
This years selection is both timeless and timely, said Nathan Lump, editor-in-chief of National Geographic.
The selection also includes Ami Vitale’s incredible image of a 70-day-old rhino fetus, conceived from in-vitro fertilization.
A young emperor penguin jumps off a 50-foot cliff for its first swim. The species normally breeds on low-lying sea ice, but some colonies have been found on higher and more permanent ice shelves, behavior likely to become increasingly common with climate change. Left by their parents a month earlier, the chicks must fend for themselves and find food by hunting in the sea. (Photo: Bertie Gregory for National Geographic)ù
This scientific success is a breakthrough in saving the Northern white rhino.
Vitale has beenfollowing the story since 2009, and her photo demonstrates the incredible results of long-term storytelling.
We hope that these images will stop audiences in their tracks and inspire them to learn more.
See more selections from the issue, which is now on newsstands.
For its December issue,National Geographicis celebrating the top 20 Pictures of the Year.
The images were culled from over 2.3 million photos taken by National Geographic photographers this year.
A scientist holds the 70-day-old fetus of a southern white rhino conceived through in vitro fertilization. (Photo: Ami Vitale)
A scientist holds the 70-day-old fetus of a southern white rhino conceived through in vitro fertilization.
(Photo: Ami Vitale)
Each spring, Morocco hosts a festival to celebrate the rose harvest.
Pickers, mostly women, pluck buds early in the morning before the flowers open and release their aroma.
Each spring, Morocco hosts a festival to celebrate the rose harvest. Pickers, mostly women, pluck buds early in the morning before the flowers open and release their aroma. The buds are then hand-sorted. The best are distilled into rose oil and rose water; the others are dried for tea or garlands. (Photo: Rena Effendi for National Geographic)
The buds are then hand-sorted.
The best are distilled into rose oil and rose water; the others are dried for tea or garlands.
Periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years in the ground, emerging only to reproduce.
Periodical cicadas spend 13 or 17 years in the ground, emerging only to reproduce. Last May and June, for the first time in 221 years, brood XIII, with a 17-year cycle, and brood XIX, with a 13-year cycle, emerged simultaneously in the Midwest and southeastern United States, respectively, filling the air with vibrations as they called out to mate. (Photo: John Stanmeyer for National Geographic)
(Photo: Prasenjeet Yadav for National Geographic)
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A black tiger—known for its merged stripes—patrols the Similipal Tiger Reserve. (Photo: Prasenjeet Yadav for National Geographic)
