Инстаграм National Geographic

natgeo Photo by @kengeiger | Lip-smacking good! That's all I could think when I saw this expression on the leopard's face. In all honestly, he was simply laying in the shade, grooming, and waiting for his next meal to wander a bit too close. The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a great place to see all the big cats, including cheetahs and lions. For more images of the #maasaimara and #kenya follow @kengeiger

natgeo Photo by @TimLaman | A small iceberg photographed in an over-and-under view, in Gerlache Strait, Antarctica. One of the highlights of visiting Antarctica is getting to see all the incredible variety of forms that ice takes. This is a small iceberg with multiple mushroom-like projections above water and a base below. In this view, you can really grasp that a much larger proportion of the iceberg’s mass is below the waterline. Photographed on expedition with @NatGeoExpeditions. See more of my photography from Antarctica and wildlife from around the world by following @TimLaman. #iceberg #Antarctica

natgeo Photo by @simonnorfolkstudio | A grass-roofed church at Hof, sits below the Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland. Very few of these churches remain today. The practice of turfing over the roofs of buildings was developed in Northern Europe as early as the Iron Age. Settlers constructed shelters from trees for the frame, stone slabs for the roof and then covered the structure with turf for insulation and protection from the harsh elements. Hofskirkja (Hof church) was built in 1884 and dedicated to saint Clement. Follow me @simonnorfolkstudiofor updates, outtakes, unpublished, and archive material on this and future projects. #Iceland #Hof #architecture #Christian #photojournalism

natgeo Photo by @ladzinski | From a distance it looked like a mirage, blurred and wobbling from the heat reflecting off the salty desert. As we drew in closer, however, it was an even stranger sight: a giant cinder cone isolated in the Salar De Arizaro salt flat, towering at roughly 400 feet tall. I later learned that this is actually a minor volcano, one that never had the power to erupt, and a mountain considered sacred by the local #Aymara people. As a spectator, it’s a surreal geological feature to see from the ground; the sheer scale, shape, and oddity is made clear from an aerial perspective. #SalarDeArizaro

natgeo Photo by @CristinaMittermeier | The headdresses of tribeswomen in Papua New Guinea are prized possessions, crafted from feathers of various birds of paradise. What I love about this photo is how the decorative colors highlight her eyes. I’ve always had a fascination with people’s eyes when I’m photographing them. I find that they visually reveal the most about a person and remind me of our common humanity. #FollowMe at @CristinaMittermeier for more portraits from the ends of the Earth. #PapuaNewGuinea #colourful #headdress #portrait #photography

natgeo Photo by Matthieu Paley @paleyphoto | Portrait of a gentle saluki dog, in the Rub al Khali desert (also known as the Empty Quarter). Historically, salukis were used for hunting by nomadic tribes; in 1996 the Guinness Book of Records listed a saluki as the fastest dog, capable of reaching a speed of 68.8 km/h (42.8 mph). This one sat quietly for a bit, enjoying the sunset glow. On assignment for @natgeo. For more cultural encounters, please visit @paleyphoto #Saluki #salukisofinstagram #fastestdog #dogsofinstagram #dogportrait

natgeo Photo by @CristinaMittermeier | As the day’s light starts to fade, a humpback whale lifts its fluke and disappears down into the deep waters of Norway's Andenes fjord to feast on herring. My moment with this whale was brief but vibrant and spirited, just like the light during this time of year. In the dead of winter, when the sky only glows for 20 minutes a day, you truly come to appreciate the gift that the sun brings us every morning. #FollowMe at @CristinaMittermeier for more photos of our ocean's largest inhabitants, whales. #humpback #Norway #sunlight #nature #photography

natgeo Photo by Corey Arnold @arni_coraldo | Bristol Bay, Alaska, is home to the world's largest truly wild, non-hatchery sockeye salmon run in the world. For over a hundred years, commercial fisherman have been harvesting these fish in large numbers, and due to successful science based fisheries management, recent returns have been record breaking. About 62.3 million sockeye returned to spawn in 2018, the largest since records began. For the fishermen, a mega fish season equates to extreme sleep deprivation and every possibility for a nap is taken. Nat Geo interviewed a few of us about how we deal with sleep while on extreme assignments (or working as a commercial fisherman). You can find the story online “How Explorers Sleep in Extreme Spots” via a link in my profile @arni_coraldo | #sleep #bristolbay #commercialfishing #fisherman #salmon #sockeye

natgeo Photos by @hammond_robin | “The CID [police] told me he died of hunger, abuse, coldness, and dehydration,” said Anna Van Coller, from her home in Johannesburg, South Africa. Anna's 73-year-old brother, Jan Daniel Francois Denicker, died in June 2016 after being transferred from Life Esidimeni, a specialized care facility, to the non-governmental organization Siyabadinga. She didn’t learn of his death until 12 months later. It has come to be known as the worst human rights scandal to hit democratic South Africa. In an attempt to save money, 1,700 people with mental illness and intellectual disability were moved from Life Esidimeni into unlicensed care homes. Within two years, 144 people died. Causes of death included starvation, dehydration, and cold. No one has faced criminal charges. The relatives want justice. Shot for @witnesschange. To see more follow @onedayinmyworld

natgeo Photo by @TimLaman | A magnificent bird of paradise male displays to a female in the rain forest of West Papua, Indonesia. The male clears the ground of leaves and calls to attract a potential mate. When he finally lures her close, his presentation culminates in this pose. Then the female makes a very careful examination of her suitor before making a decision. With birds of paradise, it’s all about female choice! The Birds of Paradise Project is going on tour with @NatGeo Live! Come hear Ed Scholes and Tim Laman in Gainesville, Florida, on Jan 23. See the link in our profile at @BirdsofParadiseProject for tickets, and follow @TimLaman for more. #NatGeoLive #birdsofparadise #Papua #Indonesia

natgeo Photo by @ladzinski | The face of a warrior. This lion is 11 years old, battle worn and still holding strong. He’s held a solitary pride on the fringe of Kruger National Park for the last 5 years. It’s a place rich with lions meaning he’s faced countless battles to retain his Royal position as king of his territory. For a lone male to accomplish this is no easy task and in his time he’s reared dozens upon dozens of cubs. His face is a badge of honor in the lion world, hieroglyphs displaying a history of violent life at the top of the food chain.

natgeo How do you prevent plastics from entering the ocean? Tell us your solutions, and staff writer Laura Parker -- who specializes in covering climate change and marine environments -- will respond with thoughts and suggestions in the comments. These recent images represent the 9 million tons of plastic waste that end up in the ocean every year. Our Planet or Plastic? initiative aims to prevent 1 billion items from reaching the ocean by 2020. Take the pledge to help at natgeo.com/plasticpledge. Photos by Justin Hofman @justinhofman ; Maarten Wouter ; and Jasper Doest @jasperdoest.

natgeo Photo by @CarltonWard | An ambitious red-shouldered hawk has caught a sizable dinner—likely a Florida water snake. I witnessed this moment at Buck Island Ranch, part of Archbold Biological Station, which directs research in order to better understand the intricacies of wildlife, water, cattle grazing, and carbon sequestration in the rangelands of the Northern Everglades. These lands are crucial to the Florida Wildlife Corridor and wide-ranging species such as the Florida panther. Shot during my #PathofthePanther storytelling project with @insidenatgeo. For more discoveries from the hidden Everglades, please follow @carltonward. #FloridaWild #Everglades #ranch #hawk #keepflwild @ArchboldStation @MacFound @Fl_WildCorridor

natgeo Photo by @brentstirton | This #blackrhino lost its horn to #poachers in #Zimbabwe. They left the animal for dead with multiple AK47 bullet wounds. This bull recovered briefly and walked through the bush for nearly a week in unimaginable pain and confusion. There were maggots breeding in his face when he finally died. We all lost another severely endangered black rhino bull to this incident, further depleting the gene pool of a magnificent species that we are losing. It’s no secret that rhinos are severely endangered today, yet China recently declared that it will once again allow trading of rhino and tiger parts domestically after a 25-year ban. They say this is to accommodate “farmed animals” bred in China. There are many reports on those farms, none of them good. Issues of severe inbreeding, starvation, and other abuses are common. There are also many reports that wild animals fetch higher prices on the Chinese market. Any legalization of these animal products throws open large loopholes for the illegal trade, stimulating poaching against severely endangered animals in countries that feed the illegal wildlife trade flowing into China. This is a very disappointing decision on the part of #China, especially so soon after they agreed to ban their domestic #Ivory trade.

natgeo Photo by Muhammed Muheisen @mmuheisen | Facing Al-Khazneh, Arabic for the Treasury, one of many facades carved into the mountains of the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. For more photos and videos from different parts of the world, follow me @mmuheisen and @mmuheisenpublic #muhammedmuheisen #jordan

natgeo Photo by @joelsartore | Teiku, a two-month-old jaguar cub, calls Parque Zoologico Nacional home, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Jaguars are most similar in appearance to leopards, but there’s nothing to confuse them with in the wild since no other big cats live in South America. The most distinctive feature of the jaguar is the shape of their spots, which resemble a certain sweet-smelling flower–the rose. To learn about incredible efforts to save this species in the wild and catch a glimpse of an adult jaguar, follow me @joelsartore.

natgeo Photo by @pedromcbride | Nothing showcases the passage of time better than these ancient time machines seated next to the modern streets of Cairo with “too many wheels,” as one poetic Egyptian cab driver described the city. To see more wild places, follow @pedromcbride #pyramids #aerial #time #travel #Africa #Egypt #Petemcbride

natgeo Photo by @ladzinski | A common scene in Patagonia. Smeared lenticular clouds stretched over a field of colorful lupine wild flowers. These cloud formations are the direct result of severely high winds, a relatively common occurrence in one of the windiest places on the planet. The southern Andes are home to a rugged and raw beauty, the product of unpredictably brutal weather and healthy precipitation. The combination of these conditions has created a healthy and vibrant ecosystem, one that is teaming with wildlife and flora. To see more photos of this beautiful part of the world please visit @ladzinski

natgeo Photo by @ladzinski | An alpha lion resting under a lightning filled sky at sunset in the ultra-arid #Kalahari desert of Southern Africa. Scenes like this are rare in a place that sees an estimated 5-10 inches of rain annually. A welcoming gift to the wildlife and flora of the region. To see more photos of this beautiful part of the world please visit @ladzinski

natgeo Photo by @jimmy_chin | Why you should always get a window seat…Somewhere above the central coast of Mexico.