49 Of The Best Entries From The 2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer Of The Year

"A baby humming bird found his way into my home. He was a bit stunned so I let him recoup on our front porch. While waiting for his nectar to cool I captured a few images of him as he came back to his own."

"Fox caught in action under the rain"

"The fox was bathing in the snow flake."

A colossal Cumulonimbus flashes over the Pacific Ocean as we circle around it at 37000 feet en route to South America

"While enjoying the sights of Chicago's Garfield Conservatory found this unlikely traveler taking a closer look at this Bromeliad. Sometimes you have to slow down to appreciate the tiny wonders right in front of you!"

"This image was taken last summer on Skomer Island, Wales. It is well known for its wildlife, the puffin colony is one of the largest in U.K.The photo shows a detail or study of an Atlantic puffin resting peacefully under the rain. As Skomer is inhabited, puffins do not feel afraid of humans, and so people can be close to puffins and the photographer can think about the right composition and take this kind of intimate portraits. Also that morning the conditions came together: rain and light."

"Waves of fog roll over a neighborhood in Mill Valley, California, as seen from the top of Mount Tamalpais."

"Every autumn walruses swim to this rookery place in the North of Russia (Chukotka, Vankarem cape). One day, walking along the beach away from the rookery, I came across a lone walrus, who was sleeping on the shore, its tusks sticked in the sand. I carefully crept up to it and photographed it with a wide-angle lens. At some point it woke up and noticed me."

"A morning stroll into the blissful forest ! Ceaseless drizzles dampening the woods for 12 hours a day; The serene gloom which kept me guessing if it was a night or a day. Heavy fog, chilling breeze and the perennial silence could calm roaring sprits; And there I spotted this 20cm beauty the Green vine snake ! I wondered if i needed more reasons to capture this with the habitat; For I was blessed to see this at the place I was at. I immediately switched from the macro to the wide angle lens."

"An American Crocodile on the surface in Gardens of the Queen, Cuba."

"This Great horned Owl is returning to her nest in an urban area near the busy Citrus county sheriffs office where the county deputies come and go pretty much on a regular basis. As well as it be near the highway leading to the high school campus."

"Kingfisher ( Alcedo athis) male with an engagement present for the female."

"Aerial view of Fall colors, New Hampshire (09/10/2016)"

"Trapper...she is a Great Horned Owl that has recently been fighting cancer of her eye lids (squamous cell carcinoma), but that doesn't stop her in any way.Trapper gets her name being used as a decoy to attract Swallow Tail Kites, where the research team will catch the kite and fit with telemetry and gain lots of helpful information about kites and their migration. But that's not her only trait. Trapper also serves as a foster mother for orphaned Great Horned Owlets at Avian Recondition Center."

"Taking place every year across Galicia, Rapa das Bestas, or "Shearing of the Beasts," involves cutting the manes of semi-feral horses that live in the mountains. Horses are rounded up into enclosures called curros, foals are branded and the adults groomed before being freed. The best known is the Rapa das Bestas of Sabucedo, which occurs on the first weekend in July."

"As I was photographing this young grey seal, we both got caught up in a sandstorm."

"Hair lines of zebra"

"A White-tailed eagle swoops in on a Hokkaido red fox to set it straight for stealing a fish. This confrontation happened out on frozen Lake Fuhren in Hokkaido, Japan. The fox escaped with the fish."

"During our trip to Botswana, we came across two lionesses and their six cubs, resting under a bush during mid-day. This male lion came along to visit the den. The females were very wary at first. We were told that a male lion will kill cubs that aren't his offspring. Fortunately, he laid down with the cubs and closed his eyes to sleep. The cubs were VERY excited to see their Dad! This little guy was trying so hard to get him to play! Dad was definitely NOT happy to be woken up."

"These polar bear remains have been discovered at one of the islands of Northern Svalbard. Unfortunately we do not know definetely wether the bear died from starving or aging, but more likely if we see the good teeth status - from starving . They say nowdays such remains to be founded very often - global warming and ice situation influence the polar bear population a lot. Svalbard, Norway, august 2014"