National Geographic Foto of the Day

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Tadpoles, Canada

January 2, 2013

Tadpoles, Canada

Photograph by Eiko Jones, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Tadpoles swim through a jungle of lily stalks in Cedar Lake on Vancouver Island, Canada.

 

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Water Buffaloes, India

January 3, 2013

[h=2]Water Buffaloes, India
[/h] Photograph by Partha Pratim Saha, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A boy bathes with his three buffaloes in the river.

 

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Rhinos, Kenya

January 4, 2013

[h=2]Rhinos, Kenya
[/h] Photograph by Igor Chervonenko, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Family of rhinos, Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

 

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Rooster, Brazil

January 5, 2013

[h=2]Rooster, Brazil
[/h] Photograph by Gerson de Oliveira, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Rooster, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

 

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Elephant Herd, Kenya

January 7, 2013

[h=2]Elephant Herd, Kenya[/h] Photograph by Robyn Gianni, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Elephants move across Kenya’s Amboseli National Park in a thunderstorm.

 

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Gentoo Penguin Chicks, Antarctica

January 8, 2013

[h=2]Gentoo Penguin Chicks, Antarctica
[/h] Photograph by Richard Sidey, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
In Port Lockroy, Antarctica, two newly hatched gentoo penguin chicks get a quick look at the outside world as one of their parents stands up on the nest for a moment.

 

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Grasshopper and Milkweed Pod

January 9, 2013

[h=2]Grasshopper and Milkweed Pod
[/h] Photograph by Matthew George, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Walking through the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest in Wisconsin on an early autumn afternoon, it's easy to find large grasshoppers like this one.

 

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Diving Bird, Mexico

January 10, 2013

[h=2]Diving Bird, Mexico
[/h] Photograph by Karl Duncan, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
While taking photos of Santa Maria reef near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I noticed this deep-diving bird chasing a massive school of baitfish in the middle of the reef. It was fast, but I was able to get this shot from above.

 

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Cheetah and Leopard, Botswana

January 11, 2013

[h=2]Cheetah and Leopard, Botswana
[/h] Photograph by Jamie Hopf, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A very rare, adrenaline-packed showdown between two spotted predators: a male cheetah and a female leopard. The leopard came to steal the cheetah's fresh kill. No one expected the cheetah to fight for it, as he is lower on the predator hierarchy, but he was very hungry—it had been a couple of days since his last meal. We were all stunned by the sudden engagement between the two cats. Sometimes hard work pays nothing and ultimately the leopard prevailed. Taken in Botswana.

 

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Birds, Israel

January 12, 2013

[h=2]Birds, Israel
[/h] Photograph by Silvi Gecht, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Hula Lake, Israel

 

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Cow and Shepherd, India

January 13, 2013

[h=2]Cow and Shepherd, India
[/h] Photograph by Kuntal Joisher, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A young bovine finds safety and solace with her shepherd father. She was very nervous and tentative when I was taking pictures of the surroundings nearby, and sensing my presence she gradually moved toward the comfort of the shepherd.

 

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Geladas, Ethiopia

January 14, 2013

[h=2]Geladas, Ethiopia
[/h] Photograph by Jeff Kerby, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A group of juvenile male gelada baboons gives chase to a male in charge of a family. These highly social primates are often squabbling over females, occasionally with deadly consequences. I was standing nearby monitoring another member of the population when the charge erupted. I managed a quick shot before the scene passed me (closely) by. Photo was taken in the Ethiopian Highlands, the only place where wild geladas can still be found.

 

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Stingrays, Grand Cayman

January 15, 2013

[h=2]Stingrays, Grand Cayman
[/h] Photograph by Nadya Kulagina, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Stingrays gracefully flying, forming a perfect straight line. Sand bar, Grand Cayman.

 

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River Otters, Shetland Islands

January 16, 2013

[h=2]River Otters, Shetland Islands
[/h] Photograph by Charlie Hamilton James
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
In the Shetland Islands a mother and two male cubs listen intently to the clicking of the photographer’s camera. The nose of the cub at right had a recent encounter with a crab. Adults don’t live as pairs, and males play no part in raising the young.

 

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Sleeping Lion, South Africa

January 17, 2013

[h=2]Sleeping Lion, South Africa
[/h] Photograph by Ande Truman, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
This male lion rests in the soft grass on a gloomy day in South Africa.

 

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Ladybug and Daylily

January 18, 2013

[h=2]Ladybug and Daylily
[/h] Photograph by Steve Adams, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A ladybug peeks out from a daylily.

 

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Zebra and Foal, Botswana

January 19, 2013

[h=2]Zebra and Foal, Botswana
[/h] Photograph by Melissa Beattie, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A young zebra foal closely following an adult. Taken on a recent trip to Botswana, Africa.

 

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Horses, Iceland

January 20, 2013

[h=2]Horses, Iceland
[/h] Photograph by Tina Thuell, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Icelandic horses gathered on top of this hill within their paddock beneath this stunning cloud formation. The combination seemed positively heavenly. This photo was taken at the breeding farm in northern Iceland called Ibisholl.

 

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Parakeets, Ecuador

January 21, 2013

[h=2]Parakeets, Ecuador
[/h] Photograph by Tim Laman, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
In Ecuador's Yasuní National Park, cobalt-winged parakeets flock to a pool. Scientists have identified nearly 600 species of birds in the park.

 

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Cheetah Mother and Cubs, Tanzania

January 22, 2013

[h=2]Cheetah Mother and Cubs, Tanzania
[/h] Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
A young cheetah mother named Etta by researchers scans the Serengeti for signs of danger while her four 12-week-old cubs wrestle. A long-running study has found that the majority of cubs here are raised by a small group of cheetah supermoms.

 

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Dog Walk, California

January 23, 2013

[h=2]Dog Walk, California
[/h] Photograph by Lauren Comfort, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Dog walk at dusk, Point Isabel, Richmond, California

 

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Cape Fur Seals, South Africa

January 24, 2013

[h=2]Cape Fur Seals, South Africa
[/h] Photograph by Steven Benjamin, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Cape fur seals are a favorite photographic subject of mine. They are curious and playful but at the same time hard to photograph. When there are hundreds of seals in the water they zoom around at breakneck speeds, their bodies forming strange shapes as they twist and turn. Occasionally a mob of seal pups will take great pleasure in tugging a diver's fins or bumping a cameraman's strobes, leaving the diver amused but slightly abused. Here a seal takes great pleasure in mouthing my dome port. Seal Island, Hout Bay, Cape Town.

 

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Kangaroos, Australia

January 25, 2013

[h=2]Kangaroos, Australia
[/h] Photograph by Gordon Fellows, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
Mother kangaroo and her joey on the beach at Cape Le Grande, Esperance, Western Australia

 

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Gorillas, Rwanda

January 27, 2013

[h=2]Gorillas, Rwanda
[/h] Photograph by David Creatura, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
I took this photograph on the final day of a four-day trip to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. The two juvenile gorillas were playing endlessly, rumbling and tumbling as most of their family members of the Sabyinyo group relaxed and rested comfortably. Pouring over my shots following the trek, I was just as excited as the expression on their faces when I saw I had at least one photograph of the hundred or so I took of them in the midst of their debauchery.

 

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Alligators, Texas

January 28, 2013

[h=2]Alligators, Texas
[/h] Photograph by Nuwan Samaranayake, Your Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Animal Pictures
This is a photograph of two baby alligators on the mother alligator’s head. The photograph was taken at Brazos Bend State Park in Texas. This nature park is well known for its huge alligator population.