Natural History Photo of the Day

January 29, 2026
California sea lion, thermoregulating.

California sea lion, thermoregulating.

Species: California sea lion, Zalophus californianus
Location: Monterey, California
Image ID: 01956

Previous 28 Natural History Photo of the Day entries

January 28, 2026: California Brown Pelican flying over a breaking wave
January 27, 2026: Anthias fish school around green fan coral, Fiji
January 26, 2026: Lunar eclipse sequence. While the moon lies in the full shadow of the earth (umbra) it receives only faint, red-tinged light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. As the moon passes into the penumbra it receives increasing amounts of direct sunlight, eventually leaving the shadow of the Earth altogether. October 8, 2014.
January 25, 2026: Steller sea lion underwater bubble display, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
January 24, 2026: Brown pelican flying over waves and the surf.
January 23, 2026: 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.
January 22, 2026: Fiji is the soft coral capital of the world, Seen here are beautifully colorful dendronephthya soft corals reaching out into strong ocean currents to capture passing planktonic food, Fiji.
January 21, 2026: Humpback whales surface together during coordinated bubble-net feeding in Southeast Alaska. The whales use bubbles, sound, and movement to corral fish before capturing them in their open mouths.
January 20, 2026: Fledgeling Peregrine Falcon in flight, juvenile, over the Pacific Ocean, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
January 19, 2026: Bottlenose dolphins swim through red tide, hunt a school of fish, lit by glowing bioluminescence caused by microscopic Lingulodinium polyedrum dinoflagellate organisms which glow blue when agitated at night.
January 18, 2026: Sperm whale underwater, Physeter macrocephalus. Sperm whales are found year-round in the abyssal trench alongside the island of Dominica since this is where they forage for deep-sea squid.
January 17, 2026: Bluestripe clownfish, Amphiprion chrysopterus, Fiji
January 16, 2026: Courting pair of southern right whales underwater, Eubalaena australis. In this image, the male is below and inverted (belly up) and the female is at the surface. While the posture in this photo isn't quite mating, it is a courting behavior that often precedes mating.
January 15, 2026: California sea lion, Coronados Islands, Baja California, Mexico
January 14, 2026: Stars at night over Hurst Island, Gods Pocket Resort
January 13, 2026: Sunrise light touches the Fins. Sandstone fins stand on edge. Vertical fractures separate standing plates of sandstone that are eroded into freestanding fins, that may one day further erode into arches.
January 12, 2026: Beautiful South Pacific coral reef, with gorgonian sea fans, schooling anthias fish and colorful dendronephthya soft corals, Fiji
January 11, 2026: 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.
January 10, 2026: California sea lion bodysurfing in La Jolla
January 9, 2026: Black oaks in autumn in Yosemite National Park, fall colors, Quercus kelloggii
January 8, 2026: Horseshoe Bend Sunrise, Colorado River, Page, Arizona
January 7, 2026: Male lion, not yet full grown, Masai Mara, Kenya
January 6, 2026: Southern right whale underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
January 5, 2026: Sunlight streams through giant kelp forest. Giant kelp, the fastest growing plant on Earth, reaches from the rocky reef to the ocean's surface like a submarine forest.
January 4, 2026: California poppies cover the hillsides in bright orange
January 3, 2026: Cardinalfish, Fiji
January 2, 2026: Two Rushing Western Grebes Walk on Water. Grebe rushing, a courtship behavior, happens when the birds slap the lake surface up to 20 times per second, literally running across the water.
January 1, 2026: Red Irish Lord sculpinfish, Browning Pass, British Columbia