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<\/p>\n Read in app<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n This story is available exclusively to Business Insider National Geographic’s December 2025 issue features its annual Pictures of the Year. National Geographic’s annual Pictures of the Year<\/a> collection showcases stunning images of wildlife<\/a> from around the world.<\/p>\n Out of the hundreds of thousands of images taken by its photographers<\/a> in 2025, National Geographic selected 25 to be included in the feature.<\/p>\n “Individually, these photographs speak to beauty, fragility, and wonder,” National Geographic editor in chief Nathan Lump said in a statement. “Taken together, I see a collective sense of urgency \u2014 a call to preserve what’s in danger of being lost, as well as a reminder of the poetic beauty to be found in carrying on, in daring to dream of a better future.”<\/p>\n Here are seven photos from the collection, which can be viewed in its entirety on National Geographic’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n National Geographic’s annual Pictures of the Year issue features “the most unforgettable photos of 2025.”<\/p>\n The cover of the December 2025 issue of National Geographic.<\/p>\n National Geographic <\/p>\n The December 2025 issue highlights striking photos that show fragile ecosystems, endangered species, and wildlife.<\/p>\n Roie Galitz’s photo, taken in Svalbard, Norway, shows a polar bear digging into the floating carcass of a sperm whale.<\/p>\n A sperm whale in Svalbard, Norway.<\/p>\n Roie Galitz\/National Geographic <\/p>\n Galitz was leading a photography expedition when he came across the decomposing sperm whale, an unusual sight since the species is often found in more temperate waters. Galitz used a drone to capture the image from above.<\/p>\n “It’s so unpredictable and fragile,” Galitz told National Geographic of wildlife photography in the Arctic. “A scene you saw today will probably not be there tomorrow.”<\/p>\n Fernando Faciole photographed one of the few remaining jaguars in Rio Doce State Park in Minas Gerais, Brazil.<\/p>\n A jaguar in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.<\/p>\n Fernando Faciole\/National Geographic <\/p>\n Due to deforestation, National Geographic estimates that fewer than a dozen jaguars are left in Brazil’s Rio Doce State Park.<\/p>\n Brian Skerry got up close and personal with a 10-foot great white shark off the coast of Maine.<\/p>\n A great white shark off the coast of Maine.<\/p>\n Brian Skerry\/National Geographic <\/p>\n Shark sightings have increased in the area due to the growing population of seals, an outcome of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, National Geographic reported.<\/p>\n Karine Aigner spotted a sunflower chimney bee resting in a flower in Davis, California.<\/p>\n A sunflower chimney bee in Davis, California.<\/p>\n Karine Aigner\/National Geographic <\/p>\n Aigner wrote on Instagram<\/a> that she was “absolutely thrilled that native bees are getting the limelight they deserve” by having her photo featured in National Geographic’s Pictures of the Year.<\/p>\n Using a drone, Marcus Westberg captured a sweeping view of antelope migrating in South Sudan.<\/p>\n Antelope in South Sudan.<\/p>\n Marcus Westberg\/National Geographic <\/p>\n A 2024 study conducted by African Parks and the University of Juba found that around 6 million antelope migrated across South Sudan, making it the largest land migration in the world.<\/p>\n Stephen Wilkes specializes in combining hundreds of photographs taken over 18 to 36 hours into a single image, such as this layered shot of a watering hole in Botswana.<\/p>\n Wildlife in Botswana.<\/p>\n Stephen Wilkes\/National Geographic <\/p>\n Wilkes photographed the watering hole in Okavango Delta during a drought, when the animals “were all thirsty, hot, and stressed,” he said.<\/p>\n Wilkes also employed his “Day to Night” technique to photograph Steller sea lions in Canada’s Malaspina Strait.<\/p>\n Steller sea lions in the Malaspina Strait of British Columbia, Canada.<\/p>\n Stephen Wilkes\/National Geographic <\/p>\n Steller sea lions are considered “near threatened” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature status cited by the Vancouver Aquarium<\/a>, but conservation efforts such as federal protections have helped their numbers grow.<\/p>\n
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\n The issue features striking wildlife photos highlighting endangered species and fragile ecosystems.
\n Some photos also show once-endangered species bouncing back thanks to conservation efforts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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