Gr8at: National Geographic Animal Photographs

National Geographic has countless superb images, so it’s my pleasure to do another post sharing their superlative photographs with you all. While my last post focused more on landscapes, this time I’m concentrating on the wide array of animals their photographers have captured. Do you have a favourite? What makes it stand out?

My current desktop background. This photograph by Joel Sartore captures sandhill cranes as they pause to fatten up on corn waste, worms and other food on their spring flight from Mexico and the southern US.

An all-over protective halo for this blacktip reef shark in the Maldives, courtesy of Paul Wilkinson. I think the surrounding fish can hear the Jaws music too.

Who can’t love this (24-carrot gold) parrot photograph taken at the Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden?

Named the Blue-tongued Skink after its most obvious feature, which is used to ward off potential enemies. The (rather brave) Kathy Parker got close enough to the menacing looking creature in South Australia to share its most notorious trait.

Befitting an image of joy and excitement, springboks have increased in number to some 160,000 since the 1980s. This fantastic photograph was taken by Frans Lanting in the Sperrgebiet National Park.

I’m guessing this shy gecko, surrounded by the ridges of a palm frond, isn’t named Gordon. It’s certainly a similar shade to Kermit mind.

 

Thanks to the wonderful vision of Mark W. Maffett, we are able to see the cactus bee pollinate a barrel cactus in Tucson Arizona.

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