National Geographic Traveler Photo contest is a yearly event were people send in photos of wildlife. The 25th annual National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest is coming to an end. The submissions will be accepted till June 30th, so those who want to participate, hurry up and submit your photos in one of the categories of Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place and Spontaneous Moments. Before the final winner comes out, let’s have a peek of some of the best wildlife photos we like most. Here’s a selection of best wildlife photos – it won’t be an easy choice for the judges!
Fénec the Soul of the Desert
“The fennec, or desert fox is a canine mammal species of the genus Vulpes, which inhabits the Sahara Desert and Arabia. With its features ears, this is the smallest species of the family Canidae. It is endangered and its main threat is illegal in other countries.” (Photo by Francisco Mingorance)
Hungry Hummingbird
“A very hungry humming bird drinking from the mouth of a person in Wyoming during an extreme drought in 2012.” ( Photo by Sundell Larsen)
A Peaceful Place
“A harbor seal rests, if only for a moment, in her mighty kingdom.” (Photo by ralph pace)
Batmobile
“A young bat and his mother.” (Photo by gilad guy)
Bird Love
“Two Red-masked Parakeets posing for the camera. Seen near Cuzco, Peru” (Photo by Dirk Kanz)
Curiosity of a Chimpanzee in Men
“During my volunteer work at the Limbe wild life center in Cameroon, a sanctuary for primates, this chimpanzee took my interest. He was having a playfull peak at us from underneath the thence while we were working at the enclosure.” (Photo by suzanne van dalsen)
Duelling Tigers
“I have been traveling around the world and parts of Asia for the last six months and this is a shot I took at Tiger Palace in Bangkok, this is one of just a few tiger sanctuaries in Thailand that do not drug the animals, and because of this they sometimes get incredibly playful, here the tigers are having a play fight in some water. What was truly amazing was the speed at which they move, one minute they are 200 yards away, the next, they are right next to you staring down like they are deciding how you taste!” (Photo by Daniel Sakal)
Fly Cap for a Vine Snake
“A fly lands on the head of a vine snake in the Choco of Colombia” (Photo by Robin Moore)
Flying Monk
Young monks begin their service very early in life in their studies in the monastery. This monk was young and energetic and decided to “fly” in his exuberance for life. Photo and caption by Bonnie Stewart
Game Over
“I have spent the last 4 and a half years in the Kalahari Desert capturing the wildlife and is currently busy with a night-project to capture all the nightlife. I have buildt a hidden camera within a termite mound-hide and try to capture interesting close-ups. All the settings was in manual and I did pre-focus the camera and triggered it with a wireless remote. Here the two pride males of the southern region inspects this termite mound that makes clicking sounds. I always wanted to get a shot of what it will look like from a ‘prey’s’ point of few!” (Photo by Hannes Lochner)
Gentoo Chicks
“Two newly hatched Gentoo Penguin chicks get their first glimpse at the Antarctic wilderness.” (Photo by Richard Sidey)
Get away!
“A group of 12-14 hyenas were chasing a herd of 7-8 elephants. The elephant herd included 2 adult females, a few teenagers, and a baby that was a few days old (belonging to one of the adult females). The hyenas were trying to get at the baby. In this picture, the mother is kicking at the hyenas.” (Photo by Jayesh Mehta)
Lost in Battle?
“A one-horned gazelle looks up at just the right moment in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.” (Photo by Kellie Reifstenzel)
Naughty Monkey
The capuchin monkey is a real ‘demon’ in the park Hacienda Napoles. Eat garbage, opens water taps, and steals food from visitors (Photo by Guillermo Ossa)
Osprey Just Before Impact
“I took this photograph near the spillway of Jordan lake dam shortly after the Osprey returned to my area for the 2013 season. Early in the spring, you can find them fishing at the base of the dam. I love photographing wildlife, but have a special place in my heart for any type of raptor.” (Photo by Brad Lenear)
Portrait of an Eastern Screech Owl
“Masters of disguise. The Eastern Screech Owl is seen here doing what they do best. You better have a sharp eye to spot these little birds of prey.” (Photo by Graham McGeorge)
Portrait of One Chilled out Kangaroo
“Jeez Louise…Those cookies were good” (Photo by Graham McGeorge)
Swifts Over the Fall
“This picture was taken at the majestic Iguazú Falls. The flight of these flock of swifts across the huge waterfalls portrait the sense of freedom and wildness that belongs to this fantastic world wonder.” (Photo by Francesco Filippo Pellegrini)
The Gathering
“Bonobos…The unknown Ape. Most people do not even know what Bonobos are. I have been documenting their behavior for over 4 years now at the Jacksonville Zoo here in Florida and all I can say is this. “Minutes turn to hours when I am photographing Bonobos. I love to watch there manorisms and interactions with each other.They are with out a doubt our closest relative. It is my dream to one day get a chance to photograph them in the wild of there own world in the DRC.” (Photo byGraham McGeorge)
The Power of the Criollo
“The power of the Criollo horses at the Cabanha Ipuã located in Paranà, Brazil. The Criollo is the native horse of Uruguay (1910), Argentina (1918), Brazil (1932) and Paraguay. It may have the best endurance of any horse breed in the world next to the Arabian.” (Photo by Chris Schmid)
Unexpected Alliance
“I have seen alligators and turtles together in ponds before, but never like this! I was at Bluebill Pond in Harris Neck NWR when I saw what I thought was an alligator sunning itself on a stump. As I got closer I realized that it was actually perched on the back of a turtle! I wish I had been there to witness how this surprising esprit de corps had came to pass!” (Photo by Mary Ellen Urbanski)
A rare reflection
Returning from a snorkeling excursion during a trip to the Great Barrier Reef, wind speed dropped to zero and the ocean became a mirror. As the horizon disappeared, only the seaplane, sitting confidently between the blue elements, provided a sense of space and felt like a link to the rest of the world. Photo and caption by Christian Roth
Hamersley Gorge
Karijini National Park in WA is one of the largest and most photogenic national parks in Australia. The park is famous for its sheer gorges, waterfalls, sparkling rock pools and cool swimming holes. Karijini is about 275km south of Port Hedland and 100km east of Tom or Paraburdoo. The park is all about exploring serpentine tunnels of marbled rock, clambering over boulders, squeezing through narrow tunnels, inching your way along ledges, paddling through subterranean waterways and descending deep into chasms which have been eroded into the landscape over two billion years. Photo Ignacio Palacios
Hidden in Plain Sight
During my visit to the Amalfi Coast in Italy I ventured for a day to Sorrento. This gorgeous island had an amazing coastline that I stuck to for the day. Because of a mix-up with ferry dock numbers I missed my ferry and had to wait two hours for the next one. I decided I would head back to town and went down a street I had passed a few times that day. The ground opened up, almost out of nowhere, where this absolute beauty, apparently “Valle dei Mulini”, was which I gazed at and shot for almost the entire period before I left for my next boat. Photo by Keiren Macdonald
Shadows and Light
A lone tree in the Palouse region of Washington glows brilliantly in the sunlight as clouds pass by, isolating it in a band of light. Undulating hills provide depth to the lit scene, captured during the brief growing season where the wheat is a rich shade of green. Photo by Jesse Summers
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
A reflection of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in the basin of the fountain opposite the mosque where the main dome of the mosque appears Photo and caption by Dhafer Al shehri
Sleepy heads
I went to Nairobi to shoot a film for an NGO. During our shoot at a school in Mathare slum, I took shelter from the heat and chaos in a school, and stumbled upon these sleepy heads. I put my camera on my monopod- self timer mode and held it up high. Photo by joe saade
Starry Starry Night
In the rainy season the insects are in abundance in the Kalahari desert. Outside my tent is a big light and attracts lots of bugs. The Bibron’s gecko’s take advantage and perched themselves anywhere close to the light-source and have a feast. The glow from the left is from my fire. Photo by Hannes Lochner
Swim with Jelly Fish
Its like a dream when u swimming with harmless jellyfish… Photo by CheanChong Lim
Tormenta en el Caulle
Photo and caption by Francisco Negron
walking chameleon
It is a domestic animal of a small boy. Photo and caption by Ondrej Zaruba