Cradle Of Life By Stefan Christmann
Emperador penguins are the largest of the 17 species of penguins, measuring up to 45 inches tall. Also, it’s the only animal that lives on the open ice of the Antarctic continent during plain winter, enduring ice-cold temperatures as low as -76°F!
Photographer Stefan Christmann managed to spot a male emperor penguin with a hatching egg beneath its furry pouch. Apparently, the penguin would frequently lift its body just to check on his soon-to-be offspring, and that’s how Stefan managed to take this shot. Curiously, the males are the ones in charge of incubating the egg, process that can take up to 75 days.
Migrant Megamoths By Lorenzo Shoubridge
Hawkmoths, also known as hummingbird moths, are among the fastest insects on the planet. Their wings beat 70 times per second and they can fly up to 12 miles per hour. Wow!
They’re also famous for their long proboscis, that sort of tube that looks like a tongue. The reason their proboscis is so long and thin is that they’re meant to reach the depths of the inside of flowers to suck all the nectar. As regards the photo, Lorenzo realized that a group of hawkmoths would always fly around after sunset looking for food, so he spent several nights stalking them until he managed to take this stunning picture.
Snow Exposure By Max Waugh
Boy, I definitely don’t wanna be in this creature’s shoes! Taken in the U.S., this picture features an American bison stranded in a snowy field struggling against a snowstorm. The American bison happens to be the largest mammal in the United States and they weigh up to 2,000 pounds. I wonder how much of those pounds are composed of fur!?
Thanks to their thick layers of fur, bison can stand temperatures of up to -50°F, or sometimes even lower ones. The poor animal is swaying his head to wipe out the snow and eat up the few chunks of grass he can find. Good luck with that!
The Ethereal Drifter By Angel Fitor
Ever heard of comb jellies before? These are a rare species of marine invertebrates whose bodies are made up of 95% water and are most famous for their fluorescent lights. Also, they’re one of the very few animals that practice cannibalism, as they prey on other larger comb jellies by eating off small chunks of their bodies.
This otherworldly picture was taken in the Mediterranean Sea. According to the photographer, this delicate creature would keep folding its sails at even the scantiest noise or vibration. If you’re ever lucky enough to spot one of these fellas, feel no fear, as they don’t sting like jellyfish!
Bee Line By Frank Deschandol
Bees must be one of the commonest animals in the world and we all have a love-hate relationship with them. While we always try to keep a distance from them to avoid being stung, these buzzing creatures play a key role in pollinating the flowers of our garden. We fear them as much as we need them!
Can you imagine how hard it must be to take a decent picture of such a small creature? Well, the French photographer Frank Deschandol did it to perfection, as he magically managed to capture 5 bees resting in a row on a stem. Just like us humans, bees rest at night, and they do so by holding tight to stems with their mandibles, lowering their bodies like dogs.
The Huddle By Stefan Christmann
What do you find more impressive, the picture of the emperor penguin with a hatching egg underneath its pouch, or this massive raft of male emperor penguins huddling on the shores of the Arctic Ocean?
As you can imagine, penguins huddle together to withstand the ice-cold temperatures, which can sometimes reach -50°F. Interestingly enough, while the females spend nearly two months hunting for food in the depths of the ocean, the males are in charge of looking after the eggs.
Humming Surprise By Thomas Easterbrook
This jaw-dropping picture was taken almost by chance. Thomas Easterbrook was vacationing with his family in Southern France when he suddenly came across this beautiful hummingbird hawkmoth.
Easterbrook stared as it fed on the nectar with its long tube-like proboscis. It almost seems as if it were drinking up the nectar with a straw! Taking this picture was harder than you can imagine, as the creatures’ wings beat nearly 85 times per second. They just never stay still!
The Challenge By Françoise Gervais
Honestly, I can’t think of a bleaker image. This female polar bear is climbing a steep slope hoping to land on some food, and it doesn’t seem that’ll be happening any time soon.
“Even one of the most impressive predators can look insignificant and vulnerable in the immensity and inhospitality of this landscape“, photographer Françoise Gervais said.
The picture was taken at Baffin Island, a Canadian island located near the Arctic Circle. As a result of climate change, polar bears have to spend 30 extra days per year on land hunting for prey due to the melting of sea ice.
Pondworld By Manuel Plaickner
Is this a painting? Is it digital art? No folks, it’s a real-life picture! What you see below is an army of frogs at a vast pond somewhere near South Tyrol, Italy. Did you know frogs spend half their lives beneath the water?
Photographer Manuel Plaickner spent nearly a decade studying the mass migration of frogs and took this picture by submerging into a large pond brimmed with thousands of frogs. Sadly, the frog population is declining worldwide as a result of pollution.
Night Glow By Cruz Erdmann
I know what you’re thinking: this has got to be digital art. But just like the photo depicting the frogs we’ve just seen, this is 100% real and that multi-colored animal is actually a bigfin reef squid. Can you guess where the picture was taken?
Cruz Erdmann took this photo on a diving expedition with his son off the Indonesian coast. When he least expected it, he spotted this rare squid glowing in the dark waters, almost as if it had swallowed LED party lights. Thanks to their pigmented skin cells, bigfin reef squids can change their body color in a matter of seconds. Wow!
Lucky Break By Jason Bantle
While this could easily be the screenshot of a scene from a Hollywood action film, it’s actually an improvised picture taken by Jason Bantle on a farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. This adorable raccoon was sticking his face across the front glass of an abandoned car, which had served as the perfect refuge for her and her 5 cubs.
While raccoons tend to build their own dens in hollow tree trunks or rocks, they’re extremely adaptable creatures, as proved by this wild image! So if you ever move to the Canadian countryside, don’t leave your home unattended, or else you know what you’re in for!
Another Barred Migrant By Alejandro Prieto
This jaw-dropping image is actually the projection of a photo of a jaguar against the American-Mexican border fence. The feline’s gleamy patches of orange contrast sharply with the luminous blue Arizona sky.
It took Alejandro Prieto nearly two years to manage a perfect shot of a South American jaguar. The artist projected the image against the fence to symbolize the animal’s future since, in his view, the building of a wall would destroy the American jaguar population.
If Penguins Could Fly By Eduardo Del Álamo
This thrilling image features a gentoo penguin running for his life as a leopard seel tries to hunt him down. Photographer Eduardo del Álamo knew this was bound to happen, as he had spotted the giant mammal lurking in the waters as the innocent bird gently rested on a chunk of ice.
Not only is the picture amazing, but its title has been perfectly chosen too. As you probably know, penguins are the only bird species that can swim but cannot fly. As to leopard seals, they are bold creatures with strong wide jaws that prey pretty much on any animal they can find, except for polar bears.
The Architectural Army By Daniel Kronauer
Red ants may seem harmless, but they’re actually fiercer than you’d think! They’re more aggressive than most other species of ants and their sting can be super painful. They also tend to live in colonies, which are sometimes made up of up to two million ants. Yikes!
Daniel Kronauer was brave enough to come just a few feet close to this ant colony, and we’re glad he plucked up the courage, cause the photo is as cool as hell! In case you didn’t notice, these ants are crawling atop a 50-cm-long nest that they built all by themselves. The picture was taken at La Selva Biological Station, in the depths of Costa Rica’s jungles.
Big Cat And Dog Spat By Peter Haygarth
Let’s take a trip to the African Savanah and take a peek at this baffling photo, featuring the fastest land animal on the planet: the cheetah. Even though cheetahs are among the most fearsome predators, this pack of African dogs don’t seem to mind.
Far from letting themselves be belittled by the intimidating feline, the dogs seem to be teaming up and pulling a fight to defend their territory. Sadly, both species are on the brink of extinction, as there are only 7,000 of each left on the planet.
Couch Crew By Cyril Ruoso
Remember that post-apocalyptic movie Will Smith starred in, I, Robot? Well, this room could’ve easily been used to shoot some of the scenes, don’t you think? The picture was taken inside an abandoned temple in Hua Hin, Thailand.
The monkeys must be having a blast, they’re living with a roof over their heads and they don’t even have to pay rent! Long-tailed macaques happen to be famous for their adaptability and they are pretty much used to living together with humans… or on their couches!
The Garden Of Eels By David Doubilet
This picture is so surreal it almost looks like a painting. Seconds before the picture was taken, a colony of garden eels was swaggering through the depths of the Coral Triangle off the coast of the Philippines, but when the photographer showed up, they all fled in a matter of a second.
David decided to hide behind a shipwreck and wait for several minutes, and guess what? Nearly three hours later, the eels re-emerged almost as if by magic. The thin electric blue fish you see in the right is a wrasse, while the tiny lavender fish is a cornetfish. The eels seem unbothered by their presence.
Snow-Plateau Nomads By Shangzen Fan
Have any of you heard of the chirus before? Also known as Tibetan antelopes, the chirus is a medium-sized antelope that inhabits the Tibetan plateau in China and Nepal. This awesome picture was taken at the Kumukuli Desert in plain winter, as you can see by the snow-capped sands.
Sand and snow are such contrasting elements that you never expect to see them together, right? This herd of male Tibetan antelopes is migrating to warmer lands, and even though it seems as if there were thousands of them, it’s actually an illusion. What you see is actually a very small herd of no more than 12 chirus, the rest being their footprints.
Portrait Of A Mother By Ingo Arndt
“When you are eye to eye with a wild puma, excitement is guaranteed”.
These words were said by photographer Ingo Arndt, who has spent months and months out in the wild tracking pumas. These felines are playful as they are elusive, so photographing them is harder than you’d think.
The picture features two cubs playing with each other almost as if they were in the middle of a wrestling match, while their mother has a stern look on its face, as if she were saying “Are you done with that?“. Learning how to play-fight is actually crucial for pumas, as it helps them incorporate survival skills which may come in handy when hunting their prey or running away from a predator.
Face Of Deception By Ripan Biswas
I bet you didn’t expect an insect to make it all the way to our top 5, right? This picture was actually taken by sheer luck. Photographer Ripan Biswas was following a fire ant colony when he suddenly stumbled upon this curious little fella.
This unusual insect is actually a crab spider. To be honest, this is the first time I ever find a spider cute! The spider was trying to infiltrate an ant colony in his quest for food. His face is sort of saying: “What do I have here?”.
Cool Drink By Diana Rebman
Are any of you able to tell what this bird has on its beak? According to photographer Diana Rebman, this dashing long-tail tit was dancing around a long sharp icicle that hung from a branch, gently pecking its tip.
The picture was taken in Hokkaido, Japan. Long-tailed tits can stand temperatures of up to -40°F and they are left with no choice but to gnaw on snow and ice to quench their thirst. How cute is that?
Land Of The Eagle By Audun Rikardsen
Taking pictures of birds such as haws or eagles is no piece of cake, let me tell you! They fly high in the sky and dive back to earth at incredibly high speeds of up to 320 km per hour, so photographers may spend hours or even days until they take a genuinely good picture.
Taken in the Norweigan fiords, this picture is breathtaking both because of the animal itself as well as the scenery. The photographer realized this eagle would always stand on the same branch while screening the surroundings, so he set up a camera trap just a few inches away. His work surely paid off!
The Moment By Yongqing Bao
This thrilling picture was taken in the depths of the Chinese Himalayan mountains, and this adorable beaver-like creature is actually a Himalayan marmot. Shortly after waking up from its long hibernation, the marmot was taken by surprise by this threatening Tibetan fox.
A round of applause for Yong, the photographer, who managed to capture the precise moment preceding the attack. Both the animals’ gestures reflect the intensity of life out in the wilderness. I can’t help but feel sorry for this furry little fella, but well, that’s what the circle of life is about!