Photo of the Day: May 2021

A mated pair of red-and-green macaws fly in Madidi National Park, Bolivia. This picture appeared on the cover of the March 2000 issue, which covered the opening of the park.

In Petra, Jordan, a Bedouin examines a Roman mosaic found in the floor of a fifth-century Byzantine church. The ancient city is Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction.

In Can Tho, Vietnam, flower merchants sell marigolds on the street. A February 1993 story travelled the Mekong River, highlighting towns along the way.

Lightning fills the night sky near Walton, Nebraska. Photographer Joel Sartore documented his home state for the November 1998 issue, which told the story of Nebraska's resurgence after an economic downturn in the 1980s.

A young woman in Amman, Jordan, models traditional Palestinian dress. This picture appeared in a June 1992 story about the Palestinian people and the decades of conflict over geopolitical recognition of their national identity.

Elsie Grosvenor gazes at giant Buddhas carved out of rock at the Yungang Grottoes, China, in June of 1937. Behind the camera was her husband, Gilbert Grosvenor, the first editor of National Geographic Magazine.

In Murzasichle, Poland, a bride and groom ride in a carriage after their wedding ceremony. This photo originally appeared in a January 1981 story about the lives and traditions of Górale people in southern Poland.

A photo essay in the February 1980 issue documented a coming-of-age ritual for a 14-year-old Apache girl in Arizona. In this picture, she is anointed with cattail pollen by all of the people in her community.

Remoras, also known as suckerfish, attach to a leatherback turtle in Kai Kecil Island, Indonesia. This leatherback turtle is the size of a bathtub; some can weigh upwards of 1,500 pounds.

For a story in the February 2010 issue called "Life in a Cubic Foot," photographer David Liittschwager and his team set a 12-inch metal frame in multiple environments in order to document all of the life forms within it. This photo illustrates life in a cubic foot at Table Mountain, South Africa.

In Sylhet, Bangladesh, women carry baskets on their heads while they harvest tea. When this picture was published in the January 1967 issue, Bangladesh was East Pakistan—it would become an independent nation in 1971.

Worker honeybees tend to a queen, identifiable by her longer torso. While worker bees live six weeks on average, a queen may rule and lay eggs in a hive for several years.

A couple dances at an Independence Day celebration in Santiago Chile. This picture originally appeared in the October 1969 issue, in a story retracing the voyage of Charles Darwin on the H.M.S. Beagle in the 1830s.

In Pakistan's Hunza Valley, people sort apricots to dry in the sun. A story in the March 1994 issue told of the ways the construction of the Karakoram Highway connected the otherwise remote region to the rest of the world.

In this picture from the February 1967 issue, residents of the town of Black Point in the Bahamas wear their finest clothes to celebrate the opening of a new clinic.

On the island of Tonga, women ink intricate designs onto a tapa cloth in honour of Queen Salote, who died in 1965. This picture originally appeared in a September 1971 story retracing the voyages of British explorer James Cook.

A story in the August 1999 issue documented "vanishing cultures." The opening photo was of these Ariaal warriors in Kenya, whose tribe remained nomadic in spite of government pressure to settle.

In Stillwell, Oklahoma, a grandfather teaches a Cherokee dance to his grandson. A story in the May 1995 issue covered the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. They were once one tribe, indigenous to the Southeast, before the U.S. government tore them apart by way of the Trail of Tears.

In this picture from the May 1921 issue, vendors in Seoul play instruments called geomungos to entice shoppers to their music store. The issue featured a supplemental "New Map of Asia," that reflected the geopolitical changes brought by World War I.

An Asiatic lion cub cuddles with its mother in the Gir Forest, Gujarat State, India. When this photo appeared in the June 2001 issue, only 300 Asiatic lions remained. But thanks to conservation efforts, the population has risen to almost 700.

In the Chinese village of Dimen, tradition dictates that newborns are assigned "coffin trees" at birth—which will one day be cut down and carved into their coffins. In this photo, a mother laughs with her daughter in front of her coffin tree.

A story in the November 1986 issue documented the worldwide humanitarian efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Here, workers unload bags of grain to distribute to families in Ethiopia.

The island of St. Thomas celebrates Carnival for a month in late spring. In this photo from the February 1956 issue, a group of people dressed in saris await their review at a parade competition.

A mother carries her baby through a forest in Bhutan to visit family. Preserving nature is one of the pillars of Gross National Happiness, the guiding philosophy of the Bhutanese government.

An ancient cave painting in Namibia depicts three hunters. A June 1982 story chronicled Namibia's efforts to regain independence, but South Africa did not cede control until 1990.

The July 2008 issue told the stories of wildfires ravaging the western U.S. "Good" fires, like this one in Custer State Park, South Dakota, clear dead brush and return nutrients to the soil. But climate change and pests have intensified wildfires in recent years, causing them to spread wider and do more damage.

This picture from the December 1960 issue shows the September 1960 issue being printed at a facility in Chicago. That year, the National Geographic Society transferred the printing process from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, bringing new depth and vividness to the photography readers knew and loved.

A school of bluefin tuna swims in a laboratory pen of Kindai University in Japan. A story in the August 1982 issue chronicled the journey of bluefin tuna from ocean to plate. The pressure the fish are under has only grown since then—bluefin tuna populations are now down 90 percent since the 1970s.

In this photo from the March 1966 issue, workers wave red flags as part of a demonstration in Moscow's Red Square on May Day. Long celebrated as a festival of spring, May 1 also became International Workers' Day in 1889.