Photo of the Day 23 November 2007

West Indian Manatee, Florida, 1998

Photograph by Wes Skiles

A West Indian manatee drifts through crystal-clear water in a North Florida spring. Hundreds of these gentle giants migrate from coastal habitats to the springs each winter to bask in their constant and comparatively balmy 72-degree Fahrenheit (22-degree Celsius) waters.

Photo of the Day 22 November 2007

Trampoline Jumper, Tennessee, 2001

Photograph by Vincent J. Musi

A jumper vaults out of frame on a backyard trampoline in Dayton, Tennessee. Now a quiet community of about 6,500, this Bible Belt town was the site of the famous 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, in which Dayton teacher John Scopes was convicted of violating a Tennessee law against teaching evolution in public schools.

Photo of the Day 21 November 2007

African Wild Dog Pups, Botswana, 1999

Photograph by Chris Johns

A trio of young African wild dog pups plays near a den in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Thought to be domesticated dogs gone feral, wild dogs have borne the brunt of extensive extermination programs. Today there are fewer than 5,000 wild dogs alive, which make them Africa's most endangered large carnivore.

Photo of the Day 20 November 2007

Desert Landscape, Jordan, 1999

Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt

Wind-combed dunes meet parched mud flats in Wadi Rum, a stark desertscape in southwestern Jordan. Revered for its dramatic sandstone and granite rock faces cut into a breathtaking span of sunbaked desert, Wadi Rum was made famous by Lawrence of Arabia, who based his operations there during the Arab Revolt.

Photo of the Day 19 November 2007

Swans, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1999

Photograph by Jim Richardson

Brooding skies cast a lavender glow on a flock of mute swans gliding across a crag-ringed loch in Edinburgh, Scotland. As their name suggests, mute swans are usually silent, limited by a straight trachea. However, they occasionally snort, hiss, or bark. The graceful Cygnus olor communicates mostly through visual displays and postures.

Photo of the Day 18 November 2007

Baby in a Bicycle Basket, Cambodia, 2000

Photograph by Steve McCurry

A baby in a makeshift bike basket stares into the camera in Angkor, Cambodia. It's common in some Buddhist cultures to shave children's heads, often leaving a small unshaved tuft above the forehead.

Photo of the Day 17 November 2007

Fur Seal, Falkland Islands, 1987

Photograph by Steven Raymer

A Falkland Islands fur seal perches on a rock outcrop off New Island, where seafood-rich waters nourish a wildlife population diverse in nature and often astonishing in number. Fur seal populations here have rebounded to merely modest levels after a hunting bloodbath in the early 19th century brought the subspecies to the brink of extinction.

Photo of the Day 16 November 2007

Monster Truck Jump, Pennsylvania, 2004

Photograph by Sarah Leen

A monster truck displays its brute power at a stunt rally in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. America's love affair with automobiles spans far and wide, from monster truck rallies and race car shows to supersize SUVs. That love affair translates to big consumption: The U.S. slurps up to a quarter of the world's oil—about three gallons (11 liters) a person every day—even though it has just 5 percent of the world's population.

Photo of the Day 15 November 2007

Horse on Waterfront, Thessaloníki, Greece, 2004

Photograph by Massimo Bassano

A carriage horse pauses by the waterfront in Thessaloníki, Greece. This northern port city plays second fiddle to glorious Athens, but some say it offers a more authentic Greek experience: milder temperatures, picturesque views of mountains and sea, hidden gardens, ancient ruins, and by some accounts, the country's most flavorful cuisine.

Photo of the Day 14 November 2007

Attwater's Prairie Chick, Texas, 2002

Photograph by Joel Sartore

A weeks-old Attwater's prairie-chicken perches in a delicate nest in Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas. A century ago, as many as a million Attwater's prairie-chickens roamed coastal grasslands here. Today fewer than 50 of these chickens are left in the wild, due to overhunting and habitat loss.

Photo of the Day 13 November 2007

Aerial View, Lisbon, Portugal, 2002

Photograph by Tino Soriano

The church of Santo Estêvão, at right, watches over clusters of red-roofed homes along the Lisbon shore. Built by seafarers where the Tagus River empties into the Atlantic, Lisbon was once Europe's wealthiest capital and a center of world exploration. In 1775, a horrific earthquake in the Portuguese capital led to centuries of decline.

Photo of the Day 12 November 2007

Spider Guarding Eggs, Maui, Hawaii, 2001

Photograph by Darlyne Murawski

Found only on the islands of Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii, the happy face spider, such as this one guarding its eggs on a leaf in Maui, is known for the unique patterns that decorate its pale abdomen. Scientists believe Theridion grallatormay have developed its distinctive markings to discourage birds from eating it.

Photo of the Day 11 November 2007

Grazing Giraffe, South Africa, 1977

Photograph by James Blair

A giraffe samples foliage in South Africa's Mala Mala Game Reserve. Biologist and explorer Mike Fay calls Mala Mala the "Ferrari of game reserves" for its posh, safari-retro accommodations, lush grounds, top-notch management, and abundant wildlife, including lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, wildebeests, impalas, and giraffes.

Photo of the Day 10 November 2007

Devil's Marbles, Australia, 2000

Photograph by Cary Wolinsky

Colossal orbs of rosy granite serve as props for visitors' snapshots in Australia's Northern Territory. Known as the Devils Marbles, these naturally rounded boulders formed over a billion years ago when cooling magma in the Earth's crust forced up mounds of sandstone-covered granite. Wind, water, chemical, and mechanical erosion shaped the granite into their distinctive shapes, revered by Aborigines as the eggs of the Rainbow Serpent.

Photo of the Day 9 November 2007

Gull Island, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, 1998

Photograph by Michael Melford

Gull Island, off of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, is a refuge for hundreds of seagulls. One of Alaska's most heavily trafficked areas, the Kenai Peninsula abounds with postcard views—snowcapped mountains, rivers that roil with spawning salmon, an abundant supply of moose, bears, eagles, and puffins, four active volcanoes, and a gigantic, otherworldly icescape, Harding Icefield.

Photo of the Day 8 November 2007

Pair of Huskie Pups, Herbert Island, Greenland, 2006

Photograph by David McLain

These young pups on Herbert Island, Greenland, will grow up to be powerful, thick-furred sled dogs conditioned to survive long periods of exertion in subzero temperatures. A hardy breed descended from canines that accompanied immigrants who traveled from Siberia to Greenland some 5,000 years ago, Greenland dogs pull sleds that weigh upwards of a thousand pounds (450 kilograms) in temperatures near minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 57 degrees Celsius).

Photo of the Day 7 November 2007

Surf on Beach, Canary Islands, 2006

Photograph by Justin Guariglia

Surf spreads a foamy swath over a black beach in Gomera in Spain's Canary Islands. Gomera's tortuous geography—desert lowlands twist upwards into a soaring cloud forest—initiated the evolution of silbo, an indigenous six-note whistling language that allows the island's residents to efficiently communicate over hill and vale.

Photo of the Day 6 November 2007

Midges in Cueva de Villa Luz, Mexico, 2001

Photograph by Stephen Alvarez

Millions of iridescent-winged midges like these throng the inky depths of Cueva de Villa Luz cave in southern Mexico. Hydrogen sulfide, which is poisonous to humans, permeates the cave's walls, streams, and air, sustaining a rich variety of bizarre organisms. Midges, bats, spiders, mites, amblypygids, and small, hemoglobin-rich fish thrive in the sulfur-saturated environment.

Photo of the Day 5 November 2007

Royal Ascot Racecourse, England, 2007

Photograph by Peter Essick

In high spirits, a well-dressed crowd at Ascot Racecourse near London celebrates a day of horse races with singing and patriotic flag-waving. Scientists study the behavior of animal swarms, such as schools of fish, to predict the way humans might behave in such densely packed groups.

Photo of the Day 4 November 2007

Smiling Couple, Blackpool, England, 1998

Photo: English hipster couple

Pressed and polished, a suited commuter seems to shield his eyes from an embracing couple below. Government jobs, nightclubs, golf courses, and beaches draw an eccentric mix of pierced hipsters and buttoned-up conservatives to the seaside town of Blackpool in England's Lancashire county. Blackpool emerged as a major tourist destination in the 20th century, though it still retains its retro charm.

Photo of the Day 3 November 2007

Crocodile, Cape York Peninsula, Australia, 1995

Photograph by Sam Abell

Seventeen feet (five meters) of brute reptilian force, a saltwater crocodile snaps at the camera in Shelburne Bay, Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Earth's largest living crocodilians, "salties," as they're affectionately known in Australia, are among the area's most dangerous predators. Without warning, they explode from the water with a thrash of their powerful tails and drag their victim—water buffalo, monkey, shark—under water.

Photo of the Day 2 November 2007

Trekking the Namib Desert, Namibia, 1998

Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta

Alone in a vast expanse of sand, a man treks across giant dunes in Namibia's Namib Desert. One of the driest places on Earth, the Namib necessitates resourceful adaptations. Snakes, spiders, beetles, and lizards can survive here only because fog delivers a wisp of vital moisture as it rolls in from the ocean most nights.

Photo of the Day 1 November 2007

Great White Shark, Gansbaai, South Africa

Photograph by David Doubilet

On the prowl in Gansbaai, South Africa, a great white shark flashes rows of teeth sharper than daggers. With its numbers declining around the world, scientists warn that this species, the most feared of all sharks, may be in danger.

Photo of the Day 31 October 2007

Girl with Pumpkin, Louisiana, 2004

Photograph by Ken Kochey

In New Orleans, a young girl in a Halloween dress struggles to lift a large pumpkin. The tradition of carving pumpkins during Halloween began in the United Kingdom, where for centuries people cut scary faces into potatoes, turnips, and even large beets to dissuade evil spirits from entering their homes. Early European immigrants to America made these so-called jack-o'-lanterns from pumpkins, which are indigenous to North America and make an ideal canvas for such carved art.

Photo of the Day 30 October 2007

Slug Caterpillar, Manu River, Peru, 2001

Photograph by George Grall

Brushlike suckers radiate from the body of a slug caterpillar resting on a leaf near Peru's Manu River. The stinging hairs, or suckers, of these brightly colored, fleshy caterpillars contain mildly venomous toxins used for defense purposes. However, simply touching a slug caterpillar triggers toxin transfer, which causes rashes, swelling, and in some cases, fever and nausea.