The Associated Press’ most striking images from nature in 2025 show existence as fragile as an albino turtle hatchling among its peers or a cicada’s translucent wings.
Beyond the headlines and sometimes dangerous human impacts on their worlds, animals and other creatures persist.
A polar bear sprawls outside an abandoned research station on an island off Russia, surrounded by grass, not snow.
A polar bear is seen in front of an abandoned research station on Koluchin Island, off Chukotka, Russia, in the country’s Far East, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Makhorov, File)
A polar bear is seen in front of an abandoned research station on Koluchin Island, off Chukotka, Russia, in the country’s Far East, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Makhorov, File)
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A young wild horse stands by its mother in a meadow near the city of Duelmen, Germany, where the herd lives in almost unmanaged feral conditions, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
A young wild horse stands by its mother in a meadow near the city of Duelmen, Germany, where the herd lives in almost unmanaged feral conditions, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
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A hummingbird drinks from a flower in a garden on the outfield lawn before a spring training baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Athletics, Feb. 24, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
A hummingbird drinks from a flower in a garden on the outfield lawn before a spring training baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Athletics, Feb. 24, 2025, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
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An adult periodical cicada, in the process of shedding its nymphal skin, is seen on May 20, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
An adult periodical cicada, in the process of shedding its nymphal skin, is seen on May 20, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
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Storks fly over fields in Buettelborn near Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
Storks fly over fields in Buettelborn near Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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A raccoon eats peanuts on the boardwalk in Panama City, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
A raccoon eats peanuts on the boardwalk in Panama City, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
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A raccoon eats peanuts on a boardwalk in Panama City.
Sheep are herded through central Madrid.
The photos show a world without us and without borders, one of extraordinary beauty in the everyday.
A hummingbird is poised to sip from a flower.
A pollen-flecked ladybug explores a dandelion.
A bee collects pollen from a blue salvia, part of the blue, green, and white flower color scheme at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
A bee collects pollen from a blue salvia, part of the blue, green, and white flower color scheme at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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The veins of an adult periodical cicada’s translucent wings are illuminated shortly after shedding its nymphal skin after a heavy rain, May 16, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
The veins of an adult periodical cicada’s translucent wings are illuminated shortly after shedding its nymphal skin after a heavy rain, May 16, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
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A grey squirrel jumps amongst autumn leaves in a London park, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
A grey squirrel jumps amongst autumn leaves in a London park, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
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A female African elephant named Pupy stands in her enclosure at the Ecoparque in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 25, 2025, as she is trained for her relocation to a sanctuary in Brazil. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
A female African elephant named Pupy stands in her enclosure at the Ecoparque in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 25, 2025, as she is trained for her relocation to a sanctuary in Brazil. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
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Mute swans float on the River Thames, Oct. 10, 2025, in Windsor, England. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
Mute swans float on the River Thames, Oct. 10, 2025, in Windsor, England. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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A ladybug sits on a dandelion flower at a park in Tallinn, Estonia, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
A ladybug sits on a dandelion flower at a park in Tallinn, Estonia, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
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A couple of White-tailed eagles fight while hunting at the Bosfor Vostochny channel in Vladivostok, Russia, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton Balashov, File)
A couple of White-tailed eagles fight while hunting at the Bosfor Vostochny channel in Vladivostok, Russia, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Anton Balashov, File)
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A golden snub-nosed monkey is seen in Shennongjia National Park in central China’s Hubei province, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
A golden snub-nosed monkey is seen in Shennongjia National Park in central China’s Hubei province, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
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Migrating cranes flock at sunrise in Hula Lake conservation area, north of the Sea of Galilee, northern Israel, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
Migrating cranes flock at sunrise in Hula Lake conservation area, north of the Sea of Galilee, northern Israel, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
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A humpback whale surfaces with a splash.
All things end. An insect is trapped in a glistening carnivorous plant. Vultures fly over an unseen carcass in India. Eagles clash while hunting.
And then, as a baby bird peeks from among its parents’ feathers, life begins again.
A humpback whale breaches off the coast of Port Stephens north of Sydney, Australia, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
A humpback whale breaches off the coast of Port Stephens north of Sydney, Australia, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File)
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Sandhill cranes are seen at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Jan. 13, 2025, in Decatur, Ala. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Sandhill cranes are seen at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Jan. 13, 2025, in Decatur, Ala. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
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A frog swims in a pond behind the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
A frog swims in a pond behind the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
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An albino turtle hatchling sits among other Arrau turtles (podocnemis expansa) ahead of their release at the Abufari Biological Reserve, in Tapaua, Amazonas state, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
An albino turtle hatchling sits among other Arrau turtles (podocnemis expansa) ahead of their release at the Abufari Biological Reserve, in Tapaua, Amazonas state, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
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Vultures fly over the decomposed body of an animal, unseen, in Jammu, India, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)
Vultures fly over the decomposed body of an animal, unseen, in Jammu, India, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)
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A Monitor Lizard rests on a tree inside the Kaziranga National Park in Kaziranga, India, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)
A Monitor Lizard rests on a tree inside the Kaziranga National Park in Kaziranga, India, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)
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A herd of sheep is guided through central Madrid, Spain, as shepherds lead them through the streets in defense of ancient grazing and migration rights, Oct. 19, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
A herd of sheep is guided through central Madrid, Spain, as shepherds lead them through the streets in defense of ancient grazing and migration rights, Oct. 19, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)
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A stork couple is backdropped by the rising sun after a night of minus seven degrees Celsius (19.4 Fahrenheit) weather, on a field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
A stork couple is backdropped by the rising sun after a night of minus seven degrees Celsius (19.4 Fahrenheit) weather, on a field in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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Brown marmorated stink bugs sit on a dandelion flower at a park in Tallinn, Estonia, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
Brown marmorated stink bugs sit on a dandelion flower at a park in Tallinn, Estonia, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)
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A Drosera capensis plant traps an insect at a carnivorous plant exhibit at the Botanical Garden in Bogota, Colombia, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
A Drosera capensis plant traps an insect at a carnivorous plant exhibit at the Botanical Garden in Bogota, Colombia, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
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A peacock alights next to a pickup truck at Mack’s Fish Camp, a family-owned airboat tour business and campground on the Eastern edge of the Everglades, May 28, 2025, near Miramar, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
A peacock alights next to a pickup truck at Mack’s Fish Camp, a family-owned airboat tour business and campground on the Eastern edge of the Everglades, May 28, 2025, near Miramar, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
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Butterflies gather around flowers along the Riverwalk, July 18, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Butterflies gather around flowers along the Riverwalk, July 18, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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A stag is silhouetted as it walks through a forest in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
A stag is silhouetted as it walks through a forest in the Taunus region near Frankfurt, Germany, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
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Photo editing by Courtney Dittmar and Anne-Marie Belgrave.