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Ami Vitale

The giant panda was recently reclassified from endangered to vulnerable by the IUCN, due to positive population trends. It's estimated around 1,900 individuals remain in the wild, and increasing.

China's Sichuan province, home of both the giant panda and the red panda. The latter's habitat is wider, stretching from Nepal in the west to China's Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. In 2020 it was found this has enabled two distinct subspecies of red panda to evolve, which diverged around 250,000 years ago – the more vibrant Chinese red panda, and the paler Himalayan red panda.

A mother panda tends to her infant at Bifengxia Panda Centre in Sichuan Province, China. This photo appeared in an August 2016 story about China's efforts to raise pandas and release them into the wild.

A nurse greets a new mother at the maternity ward in Sri Lanka's Jaffna Teaching Hospital. The photo appeared in a November 2016 story about Sri Lanka's recovery from a civil war that lasted from 1983 to 2009.

Wildlife ranger Joseph Wachira comforts Sudan, the last living male northern white rhino, as he laid dying at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in March 2018. “He died surrounded by people who loved him,” wrote Ami Vitale, who was there to capture his last goodbyes. She added that she hoped that Sudan's legacy “will awaken us to protect this magnificent and fragile planet.”

Hungarians relax in the waters of the Széchenyi baths in Budapest. The city is home to more than a dozen thermal spas, and Széchenyi welcomes more than a million visitors each year.

Hungarians relax in the waters of the Széchenyi baths in Budapest. The city is home to more than a dozen thermal spas, and Széchenyi welcomes more than a million visitors each year.

A captive giant panda and her cub explore their enclosure at the Wolong China Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan Province.

Sudan, the last male northern white rhino in the world, died in March 2018. Moments before his death, he was comforted by Joseph Wachira, one of his dedicated keepers at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya.

In a noisy, slurpy affair, orphaned elephants at Reteti get a bottle of formula about every three hours. The switch from baby formula to a goat milk-based diet has been good for the calves’ health, says Katie Rowe, co-founder of Reteti.