Connecting with the World
Devil's Throat, Iguazu Falls, Argentina. Roughly half of the river flow occurs through this part of this massive waterfall complex on the border between Argentina and Brazil.
Leon Dormido, San Cristobal, Galapagos. A sunset view of the remains of a lava cone that split in two over the years. The slot between the two is wide enough for tour boats to pass through.
James Bay, Santiago Island, Galápagos. A Sally Lightfoot crab along the lava shoreline. These crabs are rumored to be named after a Carribean dancer, due to their agility, such as the ability to climb vertical slopes and run in any of four directions.
South Plaza Island, Galápagos. This land iguana has not yet had its fill of sea purslane blossoms.
North Seymour Island, Galápagos. A female breeding magnificent frigatebird prepares to take flight.
Las Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos. A black-necked stilt along the shore of an inland lagoon.
La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California. A California brown pelican buries its bill in back feathers, but remains alert.
Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. A polar bear in early light, one of hundreds waiting in the area for sea ice to form on Hudson Bay. The bears largely go hungry until they can resume seal hunting on the sea ice.
Inside Passage, west of Juneau, Alaska. An orca (formally, a killer whale) approaches head-on, just after a blow. The rakes along the body of the orca on the left are a testament to the trials of life as a predator. Whales get rake marks during intense social interactions and from prey during captures.
Alligator Farm Zoological Park, St. Augustine, Florida. A pair of great egrets mates atop their nest of twigs.
Gold Harbor, South Georgia. A cape petrel flies across the face of a large iceberg. Wave action at the water line has cut into the highly compressed (and therefore deep blue) ice there. The vertical channels may be a result of erosion.
Salisbury Plain, South Georgia. King penguins surf into the beach after foraging in the ocean. Salisbury Plain hosts the second largest king penguin colony on the island, with roughly 60,000 breed pairs.
Salisbury Plain, South Georgia. A pair of juvenile southern elephant seals, likely recently weaned. Mother elephant seals stay with their young continuously after birth until they are weaned. Weaning consists of an abrupt departure, after which the young seal hangs around on or near the beach for days or weeks, gaining experience with its fellow weanlings and learning to swim, before it finally goes to sea.
Fortuna Bay, South Georgia. A pair of king penguins greeting and preening each other. Given that it's austral summer, this could well be a mated pair that has wintered over. King penguins are serially monogamous. A mated pair stays together through one breeding cycle, which can last 14-16 months.
Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula. Chinstrap penguins, including two on the right that are engaged in a raucous exchange of stacatto calls, accompanied by wing-flapping and head-waving. This display is often seen when one partner returns to take over incubating duties from the other or to feed the young at their rocky nest.
Antarctic Sound, between the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and Joinville Island. This sound is commonly referred to as Iceberg Alley for the icebergs that roam here after calving from the ice shelves to the south. Here, an adele penguin dives into the sound from one of those icebergs.
Akan International Crane Center, near Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. A red-crowned crane has just taken flight. This area supports the only known population in Japan of these endangered cranes (which are also known as Japanese cranes).
Rauso, Hokkaido, Japan. Above the harbor of this far northern fishing port, a Stellar's sea eagle scans for fish in the sea far below. These eagles breed on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia and winter in Hokkaido and nearby areas. They are closely related to the bald eagle and occupy the same ecological niche.
Jigokudani, Nagano, Japan. A pair of Japanese macaque monkeys in a hot spring pool. Japanese macaques are known as "snow monkeys" because they live in areas of Japan where snow covers the ground for months of the year; during those months, they can congretate in geothermal springs to stay warm. No other non-human primate lives further north or in a colder climate.
Setsuri River, Tsurui, Hokkaido, Japan. Red-crowned cranes roost in the river because the water is warmer than the air and because they can more easily detect predators coming through the water. Here, photographed from the Otowa Bridge, the cranes have awakened, as hoar frost coats the shoreline trees.
Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. This sort of bared teeth, open mouth display is one of the ways that an alpha male demonstrates his dominance.
Jawai, Rajasthan, India. A black-faced langur eats blossoms of a flame of forest tree. black-faced langur eats blossoms of a flame of forest tree. These monkeys are also known as gray or Hanuman langurs (after the Hindu god).