National Geographic shares nature’s most beautiful moments from 2024

In its December 2024 issue National Geographic reveals his pictures of the year. The collection of 20 photos was compiled from over 2.3 million images submitted to the magazine by world-renowned photographers.

The photos capture the coexistence of animals, people and nature in a fascinating way. Among the 20 images is a shot of a rare black tiger, a big cat that gets its name from its extra-wide stripes. Prasenjeet Yadav captured the elusive cat roaming the Similipal Tiger Reserve in India. Per National GeographicThe Similipal Tiger Reserve is home to the world’s only wild population of black tigers, also known as pseudomelanistic tigers.

Elsewhere in the world, photographer Bertie Gregory captured the thrilling moment a young emperor penguin jumped from a 50-foot cliff in Antarctica to swim big for the first time. Accordingly National GeographicEmperor penguins often reside on low-lying sea ice, but are increasingly seeking higher ice shelves, likely due to climate change.

Babak Tafreshi took his photo, which was selected National Geographicis the picture of the year in South Texas. He captured dozens of bats streaming out into the sunset.

Cicadas were another swarm that caught National Geographicattention this year. John Stanmeyer’s photo of the insects shows just a few of the millions of cicadas that emerged this summer when Brood XIII, a cicada with a 17-year cycle, and Brood XIX, a cicada with a 13-year cycle, appeared simultaneously for the first time in 221 years .

Ryan Tidman photographed a rare event in Canada: the day when female Pacific herring release up to 20,000 eggs off the coast of Vancouver Island each spring and the males release milk to spawn – a visual spectacle that attracts other animals such as sea lions.

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All 20 photos selected for National Geographic Pictures of the Year are now available to view. For more information on this story, visit NatGeo.com/Photos.