{"id":40436,"date":"2025-12-09T19:21:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T19:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/usa\/national-geographic-unveiled-its-pictures-of-the-year-here-are-7-of-the-most-striking-wildlife-photos\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T19:21:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T19:21:48","slug":"national-geographic-unveiled-its-pictures-of-the-year-here-are-7-of-the-most-striking-wildlife-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/usa\/national-geographic-unveiled-its-pictures-of-the-year-here-are-7-of-the-most-striking-wildlife-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"National Geographic unveiled its Pictures of the Year. Here are 7 of the most striking wildlife photos."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383e177ecd1d1da6632e19?format=jpeg\" alt=\"Wildlife in Botswana.\"\/><figcaption>Wildlife in Botswana.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Wilkes\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>National Geographic&#039;s December 2025 issue features its annual Pictures of the Year.<\/li>\n<li>The issue features striking wildlife photos highlighting endangered species and fragile ecosystems.<\/li>\n<li>Some photos also show once-endangered species bouncing back thanks to conservation efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>National Geographic&#039;s annual Pictures of the Year collection showcases stunning images of wildlife from around the world.<\/p>\n<p>Out of the hundreds of thousands of images taken by its photographers in 2025, National Geographic selected 25 to be included in the feature.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Individually, these photographs speak to beauty, fragility, and wonder,&quot; National Geographic editor in chief Nathan Lump said in a statement. &quot;Taken together, I see a collective sense of urgency \u2014 a call to preserve what&#039;s in danger of being lost, as well as a reminder of the poetic beauty to be found in carrying on, in daring to dream of a better future.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Here are seven photos from the collection, which can be viewed in its entirety on National Geographic&#039;s website.<\/p>\n<p>National Geographic&#039;s annual Pictures of the Year issue features &quot;the most unforgettable photos of 2025.&quot;<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/693835607ecd1d1da6632c84?format=jpeg\" alt=\"The cover of the December 2025 issue of National Geographic.\"\/><figcaption>The cover of the December 2025 issue of National Geographic.<\/p>\n<p>National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The December 2025 issue highlights striking photos that show fragile ecosystems, endangered species, and wildlife.<\/p>\n<p>Roie Galitz&#039;s photo, taken in Svalbard, Norway, shows a polar bear digging into the floating carcass of a sperm whale.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383ae404d0f0a114f1a7e2?format=jpeg\" alt=\"An aerial shot of a dead sperm whale surrounded by shards of ice.\"\/><figcaption>A dead sperm whale in Svalbard, Norway.<\/p>\n<p>Roie Galitz\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Galitz was leading a photography expedition when he came across the decomposing sperm whale, an unusual sight since the species is often found in more temperate waters. Galitz used a drone to capture the image from above.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It&#039;s so unpredictable and fragile,&quot; Galitz told National Geographic of wildlife photography in the Arctic. &quot;A scene you saw today will probably not be there tomorrow.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Fernando Faciole photographed one of the few remaining jaguars in Rio Doce State Park in Minas Gerais, Brazil.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383ae404d0f0a114f1a7e3?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A jaguar in Brazil&#039;s Atlantic Forest.\"\/><figcaption>A jaguar in Brazil&#039;s Atlantic Forest.<\/p>\n<p>Fernando Faciole\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Due to deforestation, National Geographic estimates that fewer than a dozen jaguars are left in Brazil&#039;s Rio Doce State Park.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Skerry got up close and personal with a 10-foot great white shark off the coast of Maine.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6938635404d0f0a114f1aefd?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A great white shark off the coast of Maine.\"\/><figcaption>A great white shark off the coast of Maine.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Skerry\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Shark sightings have increased in the area due to the growing population of seals, an outcome of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, National Geographic reported.<\/p>\n<p>Karine Aigner spotted a sunflower chimney bee resting in a flower in Davis, California.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383ae47ecd1d1da6632d82?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A sunflower chimney bee rests in a sunflower.\"\/><figcaption>A sunflower chimney bee in Davis, California.<\/p>\n<p>Karine Aigner\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Aigner wrote on Instagram that she was &quot;absolutely thrilled that native bees are getting the limelight they deserve&quot; by having her photo featured in National Geographic&#039;s Pictures of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>Using a drone, Marcus Westberg captured a sweeping view of antelope migrating in South Sudan.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383e1771107c9f3457968d?format=jpeg\" alt=\"Antelope in South Sudan.\"\/><figcaption>Antelope in South Sudan.<\/p>\n<p>Marcus Westberg\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A 2024 study conducted by African Parks and the University of Juba found that around 6 million antelope migrated across South Sudan, making it the largest land migration in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Wilkes specializes in combining hundreds of photographs taken over 18 to 36 hours into a single image, such as this layered shot of a watering hole in Botswana.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383e177ecd1d1da6632e19?format=jpeg\" alt=\"Wildlife in Botswana.\"\/><figcaption>Wildlife in Botswana.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Wilkes\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wilkes photographed the watering hole in Okavango Delta during a drought, when the animals &quot;were all thirsty, hot, and stressed,&quot; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Wilkes also employed his &quot;Day to Night&quot; technique to photograph Steller sea lions in Canada&#039;s Malaspina Strait.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/69383e1f7ecd1d1da6632e24?format=jpeg\" alt=\"Steller sea lions in the Malaspina Strait of British Columbia, Canada.\"\/><figcaption>Steller sea lions in the Malaspina Strait of British Columbia, Canada.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Wilkes\/National Geographic<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Steller sea lions are considered &quot;near threatened&quot; according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature status cited by the Vancouver Aquarium, but conservation efforts such as federal protections have helped their numbers grow.<\/p>\n<p>Read the original article on Business Insider<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wildlife in Botswana. Stephen Wilkes\/National Geographic National Geographic&#039;s December 2025 issue features its annual Pictures of the Year. The issue features striking wildlife photos highlighting endangered species and fragile ecosystems. Some photos also show once-endangered species bouncing back thanks to conservation efforts. National Geographic&#039;s annual Pictures of the Year collection showcases stunning images of wildlife [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}