Deforestation, ocean acidification, species extinction — the acceleration of these trends over the past year doesn't bode well for the global environment.
But even with these traumas, there are still endless scenes of natural beauty throughout the world.
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And there's no better catalogue of these scenes than National Geographic's Nature Photographer of the Year contest. From dazzling displays of color as lava cascades down a metallic mountain to animals resting or diving or feasting, this year's contest is just as moving as ever.
Check out the winners below and learn more about the full contest here.
Wildlife
A male orangutan peers from behind a tree while crossing a river in Borneo, Indonesia.
1st Place & Grand Prize Winner: A male orangutan peers from behind a tree while crossing a river in Borneo, Indonesia.
An adult Caribbean pink flamingo feeds a chick in Yucatán, Mexico. Both parents alternate feeding chicks, at first with a liquid baby food called crop milk, and then with regurgitated food.
2nd Place: An adult Caribbean pink flamingo feeds a chick in Yucatán, Mexico. Both parents alternate feeding chicks, at first with a liquid baby food called crop milk, and then with regurgitated food.
Two grey herons spar as a white-tailed eagle looks on in Hungary.
3rd Place: Two grey herons spar as a white-tailed eagle looks on in Hungary.
A Japanese macaque indulges in some grooming time on the shores of the famous hot springs.
Honorable Mention: A Japanese macaque indulges in some grooming time on the shores of the famous hot springs.
A great gray owl swoops to kill in a New Hampshire field.
People's Choice: A great gray owl swoops to kill in a New Hampshire field.
Landscapes
Shortly before twilight in Kalapana, Hawai’i, a fragment of the cooled lava tube broke away, leaving the molten rock to fan in a fiery spray for less than half an hour before returning to a steady flow.
1st Place: Shortly before twilight in Kalapana, Hawai’i, a fragment of the cooled lava tube broke away, leaving the molten rock to fan in a fiery spray for less than half an hour before returning to a steady flow.
Sunlight glances off mineral strata of different colors in Dushanzi Grand Canyon, China.
2nd Place: Sunlight glances off mineral strata of different colors in Dushanzi Grand Canyon, China.
A summer thunderstorm unleashes lightningon the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
3rd Place: A summer thunderstorm unleashes lightningon the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Arizona.
Morning fog blurs the dead trees of Romania’s Lake Cuejdel, a natural reservoir created by landslides.
Honorable Mention: Morning fog blurs the dead trees of Romania’s Lake Cuejdel, a natural reservoir created by landslides.
Sunset illuminates a lighthouse and rainbow in the Faroe Islands.
People's Choice: Sunset illuminates a lighthouse and rainbow in the Faroe Islands.
Aerials
In Sydney, Australia, the Pacific Ocean at high tide breaks over a natural rock pool enlarged in the 1930s. Avoiding the crowds at the city’s many beaches, a local swims laps.
1st Place: In Sydney, Australia, the Pacific Ocean at high tide breaks over a natural rock pool enlarged in the 1930s. Avoiding the crowds at the city’s many beaches, a local swims laps.
Snow-covered metasequoia trees, also called dawn redwoods, interlace over a road in Takashima, Japan.
2nd Place: Snow-covered metasequoia trees, also called dawn redwoods, interlace over a road in Takashima, Japan.
On the flanks of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’i, the world’s only lava ocean entry spills molten rock into the Pacific Ocean. After erupting in early 2016,the lava flow took about two months to reach the sea, six miles away.
3rd Place: On the flanks of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai’i, the world’s only lava ocean entry spills molten rock into the Pacific Ocean. After erupting in early 2016,the lava flow took about two months to reach the sea, six miles away.
Migratory gulls take flight from a cedar tree being washed downstream by a glacial river inBritish Columbia, Canada.
Honorable Mention: Migratory gulls take flight from a cedar tree being washed downstream by a glacial river inBritish Columbia, Canada.
Green vegetation blooms at the river’s edge, or riparian, zone of a meandering canyon in Utah.
People's Choice: Green vegetation blooms at the river’s edge, or riparian, zone of a meandering canyon in Utah.
Underwater
Blue-filtered strobe lights stimulate fluorescent pigments in the clear tentacles of a tube-dwelling anemone in Hood Canal, Washington.
1st Place: Blue-filtered strobe lights stimulate fluorescent pigments in the clear tentacles of a tube-dwelling anemone in Hood Canal, Washington.
Typically a shy species, a Caribbean reef shark investigates a remote-triggered camera in Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen marine protected area.
2nd Place: Typically a shy species, a Caribbean reef shark investigates a remote-triggered camera in Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen marine protected area.
Buoyed by the Gulf Stream, a flying fish arcs through the night-dark water five miles off Palm Beach, Florida.
3rd Place: Buoyed by the Gulf Stream, a flying fish arcs through the night-dark water five miles off Palm Beach, Florida.
Preparing to strike, tarpon cut through a ribbon-like school of scad off the coast of Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea.
Honorable Mention: Preparing to strike, tarpon cut through a ribbon-like school of scad off the coast of Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea.
A Portuguese man-of-war nears the beach on a summer morning; thousands of these jellyfish wash up on Australia’s eastern coast every year.
People's Choice: A Portuguese man-of-war nears the beach on a summer morning; thousands of these jellyfish wash up on Australia’s eastern coast every year.