Sebastian Kennerknecht / Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) pup, Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Bay, California

Sebastian Kennerknecht / Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) pup, Elkhorn Slough, Monterey Bay, California

Sebastian Kennerknecht / Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) biologist, Ben Pearl, picking up chick from mud flat in salt pond, Eden Landing Ecological Reserve, Union City, Bay Area, California

Konrad Wothe / Giant Green Sea Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica) group, Goose Barnacles (Lepas anserifera) group and Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus) at low tide, Olympic National Park, Washington

Thomas Mangelsen / Elk (Cervus elaphus) herd of males in snow, National Elk Refuge, Wyoming

Thomas Mangelsen / Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis) in old growth forest, southwest Oregon

Larry Minden / Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) emerging from burrow beneath Mohave Desertrue (Thamnosma montana), Mojave Desert, California

Flip Nicklin / Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) underwater pair, Hawaii

Flip Nicklin / Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forest, with Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus), Channel Islands National Park, California

Flip Nicklin / Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) forest, with Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus), Channel Islands National Park, California

Jim Brandenburg / Timber Wolf (Canis lupus) pup in forest undergrowth, Minnesota

Fred Bavendam / West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) mother and calf nuzzling, Kings Bay, Crystal River, Florida