2007-11-21 African Wild Dog Pups, Botswana, 1999 Photograph by Chris Johns
A trio of young African wild dog pups plays near a den in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Thought to be domesticated dogs gone feral, wild dogs have borne the brunt of extensive extermination programs. Today there are fewer than 5,000 wild dogs alive, which make them Africa’s most endangered large carnivore.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Africa’s Wild Dogs," May 1999, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-22 Trampoline Jumper, Tennessee, 2001 Photograph by Vincent J. Musi
A jumper vaults out of frame on a backyard trampoline in Dayton, Tennessee. Now a quiet community of about 6,500, this Bible Belt town was the site of the famous 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, in which Dayton teacher John Scopes was convicted of violating a Tennessee law against teaching evolution in public schools.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "ZipUSA: Dayton, Tennessee," September 2001, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-23 West Indian Manatee, Florida, 1998 Photograph by Wes Skiles
A West Indian manatee drifts through crystal-clear water in a North Florida spring. Hundreds of these gentle giants migrate from coastal habitats to the springs each winter to bask in their constant and comparatively balmy 72-degree Fahrenheit (22-degree Celsius) waters.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Unlocking the Labyrinth of North Florida Spring," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-24 Sky Disk at Twilight, Germany, 2004 Photograph by Kenneth Garrett
Found buried in a hill in the town of Nebra in 1600 B.C., this 3,600-year-old sky disk reflects cloud-strewn skies in central Germany. The disk, which tracks the sun’s movements along the horizon, contains the oldest known depiction of the night sky and may have served as an agricultural and spiritual calendar.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Star Search," January 2004, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-25 Swakopmund Dune Fields, Namibia, 2000 Photograph by Cary Wolinsky
Wind-sculpted dunes sprawl across the Sesriem and Sossusvlei dune area in Namibia’s Namib Desert. The Namib is a cool, coastal desert that roughly translates to "an area where there is nothing" in the Nama language. It is known for its dramatic dunes, including the crescent-shaped barchan dunes shown here, some of which can reach 100 feet (30 meters) high and 1,200 feet (370 meters) wide.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "New Eyes on the Oceans," October 2000, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-26 Butterfly on Leaf, Borneo, Malaysia, 2001 Photograph by Timothy Laman
Under the cover of darkness, a butterfly with folded wings rests gracefully on a leaf in the Danum Valley Conservation Area in Sabah, Borneo. The 170-square-mile (438-square-kilometer) conservation area is the largest undisturbed lowland rain forest in Malaysia, home to one of the world’s most complex ecosystems.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Night Shift in the Rain Forest," October 2001, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-27 Aerial View, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, 2002 Photograph by Frans Lanting
The jagged University Range in Alaska's snow-draped St. Elias Mountains blushes red in the Arctic twilight. Many peaks in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park remain unnamed—and unclimbed—more than 20 years after the park was established.
(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Alaska's Giant of Ice and Stone," March 2003, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-28 Orchid, 2004 Photograph by Robert Clark
For legendary 19th-century scientist Charles Darwin, orchids, like the dew-beaded beauty shown here, epitomized the theory of natural selection, the belief that plants and animals evolve with traits favoring survival and reproductive success. By this measure orchids are a sensational success, with 24,000 species and 60,000 registered hybrids, far more than any other flowering plant on Earth.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Was Darwin Wrong?" November 2004, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-29 Dinosaur Fossils, Niger, 1997 Photograph by George Steinmetz
In Niger's Ténéré desert, a ridge of protruding bones suggests a dramatically different past. Millions of years ago, the parched plains of the Ténéré were spread with thick forests and broad rivers home to crocodiles, turtles, fish, and dinosaurs, including Suchomimus tenerensis, a recently discovered crocodile-like creature.
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Journey to the Heart of the Sahara," March 1999, National Geographic magazine)
2007-11-30 Monkeys at Watering Hole, India, 1997 Photograph by Michael Nichols
A troop of Hanuman langur monkeys drinks from a watering hole used by tigers in India's Bandhavgarh National Park. Named after the Hindu monkey god Hanuman, these lanky, long-tailed monkeys are found in the humid forests, swamps, and even urban areas of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar (Burma).
(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Making Room for Wild Tigers," December 1997, National Geographic magazine) 在印度的斑德哈瓦加国家公园,一群哈奴曼叶猴趁着老虎不在,到水潭旁饮水。这些体瘦尾长的猴子的名字源于印度教中的猴神哈奴曼,分布在潮湿的森林和沼泽中,甚至在印度,巴基斯坦,孟加拉,斯里兰卡和缅甸等国的城市地区也能发现。
Photos and English scripts are from Nationalgeographic.com; Chinese translation is provided by