Photo of the Day: February 2021
A polar bear and her cub sleep in the snow. The bears are waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze over so that they can spend the winter hunting seals on the ice.
A Berber groom kisses his bride at a mass wedding in Taarart, Morocco. Berbers living in rural areas of Morocco carry on cultural traditions that have lasted at least 5,000 years.
Uygur pilgrims pray at the graves of Islamic saints during the Imam Asim festival near Hotan, Xinjiang Province, China. The Uygur people are a Muslim minority in China, heavily persecuted by the Chinese government.
Double-layered tents shelter researchers from wind in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. As part of an expedition in the mid-1980s, scientists dove in the sound, with water temperatures around -2 degrees Celsius.
There are fewer than a thousand Seri people in Mexico, meaning their native language is fading fast. Isabel Chavela Torres is blind and almost completely deaf, but she still passes on as much traditional knowledge as she can.
Naga tribeswomen walk along what's left of the Burma Road in Myanmar. Tens of thousands of U.S. troops and Asian workers carved the route through unforgiving jungles to serve as an Allied supply line between China and Burma during World War II—and hundreds of them lost their lives to disease, accidents, and Japanese attacks.
The Leakey family—archaeologist Louis, paleontologist Mary, and son Philip—examine a campsite of a prehistoric manlike creature in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, after discovering its fossils in 1960. Louis later went on to found The Leakey Foundation, which continues the work of studying human prehistory.
In this picture from the November 1971 issue, a gentoo penguin wears radio backpack that provides scientists with data on its blood flow and pressure.
In this picture from the November 1971 issue, a woman in an elaborate costume celebrates Carnival on the island of Trinidad. The annual celebrations include parades, calypso music, and limbo competitions.
Hippos fight in the Luangwa River, Zambia, as their water supplies shrink toward the end of the dry season. Zambia has the largest population of hippos in all of Africa.
An August 2008 story documented the seemingly mysterious world of Moscow at night. Here, a flash mob congregates to kiss among the crowd near Red Square.
A couple shares a tender moment on a summer Sunday in London. A sweeping story in the June 2000 issue posited that London had returned to the world stage for the first time since the 1960s.
Abraham Lincoln lived in this home in Springfield, Illinois, for 17 years before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Today, the home and surrounding land are preserved as a National Historic Site.
Oceanographer Sylvia Earle shows engineer Peggy Lucas a handful of algae through the window of the Tektite habitat. They were two of five women who lived in the underwater habitat for two weeks in 1970, studying various aspects of marine life.
Ice and snow encrust the workings at an oil rig in western Siberia. Oil is a key component of Russia's economy; the country is the second largest exporter.
A woman dances to bomba music at a bar in Loiza Aldea, Puerto Rico. The music originated more than 200 years ago with Africans who had been enslaved by Spanish colonisers to work the island's sugar plantations.
Children fly kites at a boarding school in Kathmandu, Nepal. Their parents are Sherpas on Mount Everest, some of whom risk their lives in hopes of making enough money to provide a more secure future for their families.
Artesia High School's football team has claimed the New Mexico state champion title 30 times since 1957. When this picture appeared in the September 1993 issue, up to 10,000 fans would pack the stadium for big games—as many as the whole town's population.
Candidates compete for admission to the prestigious Repin Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. This photo originally appeared in the September 1998 issue in a story tracking the lasting influence of Catherine the Great, who expanded and renamed the famous school in 1764.
An arctic fox sits under a full February moon in Manitoba, Canada. The animal's fur turns from brown in summer to white in winter, allowing it to blend into the snowy landscape.
The January 1958 issue featured a story on a seven-week winter festival held the previous year in Quebec City, Canada. One of the attractions was this 1,400-foot toboggan hill.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt reads his annual address to the members of Congress in January 1937. This photo represents the first time a colour camera recorded a joint session in the Hall of Representatives.
In Oulanka National Park, Finland, a whooper swan prepares for takeoff in the morning mist. The swan, whose wings can span up to nine feet, is the national bird of Finland.
In Malacca, Malaysia, a man lights large incense sticks outside of a Taoist temple to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Malaysian people with Chinese heritage make up almost a quarter of the country's population.
