Captured in Florida, a burrowing owl shakes off the rain. A unique feature found in owls is their flexible necks which allows them to compensate for fixed vision.
Photo by: William Kleinfelder, National Geographic Your Shot
Captured in Japan, a beam of morning light shines over a quiet waterfall in Gifu Prefecture.
This juvenile Wonderpus octopus was captured while swimming through the dark waters off Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Photographer Simon Lorenz explains "At this early stage of their development, most species of octopus are transparent and pelagic, drifting until they are large enough to settle on the reef."
Captured in Grand Teton National Park, a lone member of the Phantom Springs wolf pack stands tall. The wolves had been absent for about 70 years before returning to the park in 1998 when they moved from Yellowstone.
The peaks of the northern Rockies located in Glacier National Park glow in the morning light. They are cloaked in smoke from wildfires as far away as Washington State.
Silversides swim through the mangroves of Cuba's Gardens of the Queen marine reserve. The dense forest offers a welcoming shelter for the finger-sized fish which form large schools to try to confuse predators.
Captured just off the coast of Costa Rica, photographer Shelton DuPreez was surrounded by a superpod of dolphins. "We were equipped with an electric underwater propellor system, that allowed us to mimic their effortless playful behavior and they LOVED IT!" he recalls. "In crystal clear waters we were surrounded by no less than a couple hundred at any given time."
Taken in Grand Teton National Park, a weasel blends into the snow. In spring it will molt and turn light brown.
An American alligator waits for prey at the bottom of a cypress swamp in northern Everglades. Due to rising sea levels, salt water is being forced into the Everglades. Consequently, alligators may be edged out by crocodiles, which can excrete excess salt through their tongues.
This stunning ocelot was captured while on a nighttime prowl by a camera trap. Ocelots weigh up to 33 pounds. Their diet consists of rodents, lizards, sloths, and chickens.
These arctic wolves were captured while strolling by on the Arctic Bay in Nunavut Canada. Unfortunately, it is difficult for scientists to spend time studying the animals, as temperatures in their climate can reach lows of −63°F.
A group of juvenile orangutans was transported in a wheelbarrow by a keeper at the International Animal Rescue center in Borneo, Indonesia. They were taken to a patch of forest where they will learn skills for the wild.
Captured in the brilliant blue Caribbean Sea, a trio of silky sharks swim by. Healthy coral reefs thriving off of Cuba's southern coast support a food chain that links plankton to predators.
Pictured here is Guatemala's Volcano of Fire. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Just two months after this photo was taken in June 2018, the volcano erupted killing and injuring hundreds of people.
The hawksbill sea turtle is critically endangered. It is just three inches long. Pictured here, the turtle paddles away from Cuba's shore under the protective cover of dusk.
