Here are seven of the best wildlife photos from this stunning collection.
The magazine selected 29 images from more than 2 million photos taken by 165 photographers.
Marine biologist Alexander Semenov photographed jellyfish in the Arctic Ocean
After breeding, lion’s mane jellyfish shrink and shed their tentacles. Semenov photographed the creature underwater in this last stage of life.
In the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, Jane Guyton took photos of hyenas coming to the pond to drink
Guyton took the photo using a remote-controlled armored robot designed by National Geographic engineers.
Field specialists in New Zealand examine brown kiwi on the North Island in a photo by Robin Hammond
Eleven kiwis, New Zealand’s national symbol, have been released into the wild to preserve the population of a species that the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified as “threatened with extinction”.
Brent Stirton’s photo captures elephants roaming tea plantations in India.
The tea plantation on the hill was once part of the forest habitat for elephants.
Take a close look at Jaime Rojo’s photo to see thousands of monarch butterflies clustered together in sunlit fir trees
Butterflies cuddle together for warmth at the El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary in Mexico.
David Doubilet photographed a 2-meter-long zebra shark at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago
This endangered species will eventually be released into a protected area in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
Carsten Peter photographed a team of explorers diving into the toxic waters of Lago Verde in Italy
Cave explorer Valentina Mariani and National Geographic explorers Kenny Broad and Nader Quarta explore the unique ecosystem in search of clues to how life evolved on Earth and how it might exist in the seas of other planets.
To see all 29 images from this year, visit NatGeo.com.
The above text is a translation from American edition of Insidercompletely prepared by the local editorial office.
Translated by: Dorota Salos