This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

Chestnut cowrie with mantle extended.
Species: Chestnut cowrie, Date cowrie, Cypraea spadicea
Location: San Miguel Island, California
Image ID: 01035  

A neonate gray whale calf, born just hours before, still exhbiting embryonic folds in the skin along its side. This baby gray whale was born in the cold waters of Big Sur, far to the north of the Mexican lagoons of Baja California where most gray whale births take place.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: Monterey, California
Image ID: 01135  

Saddleback grouper.
Species: Saddleback grouper, Plectropomus laevis
Image ID: 08907  

Squaretail coralgrouper.
Species: Squaretail coralgrouper, Plectropomus areolatus
Image ID: 08842  

Blue shark and offshore drift kelp paddy, open ocean.
Species: Blue shark, Macrocystis pyrifera, Prionace glauca
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 01077  

Squaretail coralgrouper (upper) and spotted coralgrouper (lower).
Species: Squaretail coralgrouper, Plectropomus areolatus, Plectropomus maculatus
Image ID: 08836  

Ocean sunfish schooling near drift kelp, soliciting cleaner fishes, open ocean, Baja California.
Species: Ocean sunfish, Mola mola
Image ID: 06307  

Bumphead Cichlid.
Species: Bumphead cichlid, Cyphotilapia frontosa
Image ID: 09290  

Sperm whale.
Species: Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus
Location: Sao Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
Image ID: 02078  

Gray whales, two males both with extended penis during courtship socialization, Laguna San Ignacio.
Species: Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Location: San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 06431  

Pelagic stingray, open ocean.
Species: Pelagic stingray, Pteroplatytrygon violacea
Location: San Diego, California
Image ID: 02096  

Sequoia trees, Mariposa Grove.
Species: Giant sequoia tree, Sequoiadendron giganteum
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 07607  

Unicorn Peak at sunset, seen from Tuolumne Meadows. Cockscomb Peak rises in the distance.
Location: Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park, California
Image ID: 09945  

Rocky shallows in Jackson Lake with Mount Moran in the background.
Location: Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 07410  

Hydrangea flowers.
Location: Sao Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal
Image ID: 05470  

Mountain lion, Sierra Nevada foothills, Mariposa, California.
Species: Mountain lion, Puma concolor
Image ID: 15791  

A male moose, bull moose, on snow covered field, near Cooke City.
Species: Moose, Alces alces
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19691  

A Florida manatee, or West Indian Manatee, hovers in the clear waters of Crystal River.
Species: West indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
Location: Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, Florida
Image ID: 02654  

Salmon leap up falls on their upriver journey to spawn, Brooks Falls.
Location: Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska
Image ID: 17362  

A huge blue whale swims through the open ocean in this underwater photograph. The blue whale is the largest animal ever to live on Earth.
Species: Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Image ID: 03027  

Scalloped hammerhead shark.
Species: Scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini
Location: Cocos Island, Costa Rica
Image ID: 03216  

Sunrise in Joshua Tree National Park.
Species: Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Image ID: 22101  

Coyote, pausing to look for prey as it passes through Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.
Species: Coyote, Canis latrans
Location: Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, New Mexico
Image ID: 21803  

Sea otters mating. The male holds the female's head or nose with his jaws during copulation. Visible scars are often present on females from this behavior. Sea otters have a polygynous mating system. Many males actively defend territories and will mate with females that inhabit their territory or seek out females in estrus if no territory is established. Males and females typically bond for the duration of estrus, or about 3 days.
Species: Sea otter, Enhydra lutris
Location: Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Moss Landing, California
Image ID: 21606  

Injured caudal fin on an 11' great white shark, likely female, underwater.
Species: Great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias
Location: Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe), Baja California, Mexico
Image ID: 21414  

Black bear walking in a grassy meadow. Black bears can live 25 years or more, and range in color from deepest black to chocolate and cinnamon brown. Adult males typically weigh up to 600 pounds. Adult females weight up to 400 pounds and reach sexual maturity at 3 or 4 years of age. Adults stand about 3' tall at the shoulder.
Species: American black bear, Ursus americanus
Location: Orr, Minnesota
Image ID: 18793  

The Pronghorn antelope is the fastest North American land animal, capable of reaching speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. The pronghorns speed is its main defense against predators.
Species: Pronghorn antelope, Antilocapra americana
Location: Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19627  

Coyote.
Species: Coyote, Canis latrans
Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Image ID: 19634  

Brain rocks. Sandstone is curiously eroded through the forces water and wind acting over eons. Cracks and joints arise when water freezes and expands repeatedly, braking apart the soft sandstone.
Location: North Coyote Buttes, Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona
Image ID: 20747  

Bluebanded goby, Catalina.
Species: Bluebanded goby, Lythrypnus dalli
Location: Catalina Island, California
Image ID: 04597