National Geographic_The Year In Pictures - 2021

Brazil-Guyana border PHOTOGRAPH BY RENAN OZTURK

JULY 17 SAVING ELEPHANTS, HELPING A COMMUNITY

Meibae, a three- to buy it. Instead, they
year-old orphan at developed their own,
Reteti Elephant Sanc- based on goat milk
tuary, in Kenya, chugs from neighboring pas-
a bottle grasped in toralists. It’s nutritious,
his coiled trunk. The cheaper, and a way for
calves used to drink Reteti to contribute
human infant formula, to the local economy.
but the coronavirus This creative solution
lockdown made it forms stronger ties
difficult for staff mem- between villagers and
bers to travel from the elephants, encour-
remote sanctuary to aging a peaceful
the town of Nanyuki coexistence.

Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, Kenya P H OTO G RA P H BY AMI VITALE

BY RACHAEL BALE

Bright Spots in a Dark Year: AS THE FAMILY of 16 Asian
Successes in preservation showed elephants started moving north, no
a respect for the past, present, and one knew where they were heading,
or why. At first, no one thought much
future of our world. about it. Elephants sometimes stray
beyond the boundaries of Xishuang-
110 N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C banna National Nature Reserve, in
southwestern China’s Yunnan Prov-
ince, but they always return.

Not this time.
Over the course of 16 months they
crop-raided, mud-bathed, and road-
tripped 300 miles north to the provin-
cial capital of Kunming, a sprawling
city of eight million people. Along
the way they became global celebri-
ties—and presented a conundrum for
government officials. The elephants
were racking up about a half million
dollars in damage, and there was
the ever present risk of an elephant
charging a curious onlooker.
The simple answer would be to
tranquilize the giant mammals and
transport them back to the reserve.
But that would be risky for this
group, especially the three calves.
Instead, officials mobilized an emer-
gency task force to keep everyone,
elephants and humans alike, safe.
Drones tracked the elephants’ every
move. Tons of corn, pineapples, and
bananas were used as bait to lure them
away from towns. Electric fences, road
barriers, and new pathways steered
them toward safer routes. These
measures ultimately involved tens of
thousands of people at a cost equal
to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In a year torn by climate change,
conflict, and COVID-19, some might
argue that going to extremes to keep a
family of elephants safe was wasteful.

YEAR IN PICTURES: CONSERVATION

IT’S NOT A bright spots in an otherwise dark year. That’s not to say the bio-
ZERO-SUM GAME. diversity crisis has passed. Plant and animal species are still
WE CAN PROTECT disappearing at an alarming rate; ecosystems are still unraveling.
ELEPHANTS AND And we must acknowledge the damage inflicted by everything
DEVELOP VACCINES. from climate change to bombs on millennia-old historic sites.
WE CAN STABILIZE
STONEHENGE But we’ve also done much to protect the world’s heritage. We’ve
AND PROVIDE moved Atlantic bluefin tuna off the global endangered species list.
DISASTER RELIEF. We’ve reconsidered plans for oil drilling in an Arctic refuge. We’ve
seen thousands of looted artifacts returned to Iraq and sacred
They might say the same about search- objects given back to the Arrernte people in central Australia. And
ing for an undiscovered species of frog we’ve safely persuaded a family of elephants on a long, perilous
on never before climbed mountains, journey to turn homeward.
or building new museums, or stuff-
ing mortar into the eroding cracks of “As 2021 comes to an end, I am scared about the state of nature
Stonehenge’s prehistoric megaliths. but also hopeful,” says National Geographic Explorer Gladys
Kalema-Zikusoka, founder and CEO of Conservation Through Pub-
But conserving our natural and lic Health. Her group is a Ugandan nonprofit that promotes gorilla
human heritage—like efforts to cure conservation, community health, and sustainable livelihoods for
disease and stop war—is about nur- people who live near national parks and reserves.
turing good in the world. We need
wildlife and ancient artifacts, just as “I am scared because the threats to nature are increasing,” she
we need health and peace. They’re the says, but “I am hopeful because the extreme weather patterns we
backdrop against which our lives take are experiencing and the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic [are]
place, and they help us make sense leading to a heightened awareness about these risks and the need
of our own stories. They provide the to do something about them.”
context for our existence. They’re our
past, present, and future. By November the elephants in China had made their way back
home and were in good condition, the National Forestry and
It’s not a zero-sum game, anyway. Grassland Administration said. It’s still not clear why they left
We can protect elephants and develop in the first place, but one theory is that as elephant numbers in
vaccines. We can stabilize Stonehenge Yunnan Province have increased, the animals have needed to
and provide disaster relief. The year expand their territory.
2021 is proof of that.
That could be considered good news for this endangered species.
Conservation efforts have been But the story of the elephants’ trek demonstrates something else
too: that the world we created and the world nature created are

inextricably bound, for better or for worse. j

Rachael Bale is the executive editor of National Geographic’s
Animals desk. She most recently wrote about cheetah traffick-
ing, for the September 2021 issue.

Safety in numbers ARCTIC
5.2%

Marine protected areas (MPAs) make up Share of MPA PACIFIC ATLANTIC INDIAN
7.9 percent of the ocean; about 2 percent is protected 6.6% 4.7%
fully protected from fishing, a top threat to from fishing 8.6% of
marine biodiversity. Increased seabed mining ocean is in Tristan
and shipping make more protections crucial. 100% (18 MPAs) da Cunha
71-85 (2) an MPA
The 50 largest MPAs (below) account for 33-38 (4) SOUTHERN
85 percent of the protected ocean. Most are in 2-25 (13) 10.5%
national waters; a few are in international seas. No data (15)

NATIONAL WATERS: 90% of MPA extent 2021 addition
Pristine Seas project*

PACIFIC OCEAN Papahanaumokuakea Mexican Palau Great Marae Moana Over
United States Deep Pacific Palau Barrier 16,000
Mexico Reef Cook Islands, other
583,000 square miles New Zealand MPAs in
Phoenix Australia national
Bigger than all U.S. Islands 765,000 square miles waters
national parks combined, Kiribati
it’s the largest MPA that It’s the largest MPA
also gives full protection overall, but it allows
from fishing. commercial fishing,
which produces
Natural Park of the Coral Sea greenhouse gases and
New Caledonia, France disturbs ecosystems.

Pacific Remote Pitcairn Islands
Islands United Kingdom

U.S.

Nazca- Coral Sea Marianas Kermadec Rapa Nui
Desventuradas Australia Trench Islands Rahui
Chile
U.S. N.Z. Chile
Juan
Fernández Sea Norfolk
Chile Australia

INDIAN Chagos† French Southern Territories Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and Tuvai- ARCTIC
U.K. South Sandwich Islands juittuq
France U.K.
Aldabra Group U.K. Canada
Seychelles 639,000 square miles 266,000
square miles
A new gold standard of
“no take” protection in Ascension E.E.Z. Trindade and St. Peter
the South Atlantic, the U.K. Martim Vaz and St. Paul
Tristan da Cunha MPA bans Islands Archipelago
fishing, mining, and other Agoa
extractive activity, creating France Brazil Brazil
a haven for seals, whales,
and endangered seabirds.

South-west
Corner

Australia

ATLANTIC SOUTHERN

Panama’s waters reached over 30 percent protection Mexico’s new Islas Marías Biosphere Reserve
in 2021 with a tripling of the Cordillera de Coiba MPA. shelters diverse reef ecosystems.

*THE PRISTINE SEAS PROJECT, LAUNCHED IN 2008 BY THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, HAS HELPED CREATE 24 MARINE RESERVES.
NOT ALL PRISTINE SEAS RESERVES, INCLUDING THOSE WITHIN LARGER MPAS, ARE SHOWN. MPA DATA ARE AS OF OCTOBER 2021.
†THE CHAGOS MPA IS AFFECTED BY A SOVEREIGNTY DISPUTE BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND MAURITIUS.

Ocean conservation has lagged behind efforts on land, ON LAND, SOME
but in 2021 there were big gains near shore and at sea. SPECIES ARE BACK
FROM THE BRINK
Aiding that progress was the National Geographic
Society’s Pristine Seas project, part of a global target to A million species are at
risk of extinction. But 2021
protect at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030. provided promising news for
several at-risk species.
BY LAWSON PARKER
A N D SHELLEY SPERRY Jaguar crossings

ACTION IN THE ARCTIC ARCTIC CIRCLE A National Geographic Explorer
ARCTIC captured rare video of a young
Protections on the high seas are OCEAN jaguar, dubbed “El Bonito,” on
a multinational challenge, but in North Pole the U.S.-Mexico border. Hunters
2021 nine nations and the European wiped out U.S. populations, but
Union began enforcing a treaty Central Arctic conservation efforts in Mexico
that bans commercial fishing in Ocean Fisheries are boosting their numbers, with
Arctic international waters for Agreement some returning to U.S. habitats.
16 years. Scientists plan to study
the region before ice melt can
lead to fishing and mining.

INTERNATIONAL WATERS: 10% of MPA extent

SOUTHERN 582,000 square miles Central Arctic Ocean
Fisheries Agreement

1.1 million square miles

This doubles the territory
protected from fishing in
international waters—regions
beyond country boundaries
that make up 64 percent of
the ocean’s area.

ATLANTIC

19 other MPAs in international waters Trend Grasshopper sparrow soars
needed
CAN WE GET TO 30 PERCENT? to hit 30% The most endangered bird in the
by 2030 continental U.S. was also the first
Reaching this goal will require a variety of sparrow successfully bred in cap-
solutions, including MPAs, international 2015-2021 tivity and released in the wild. The
treaties, and the involvement of previously trend new Florida Wildlife Corridor, sup-
underrepresented groups. The world’s ported by the National Geographic
370 million Indigenous people—who oversee Society, protects habitats for both
lands and waters accounting for 80 percent of sparrows and panthers.
Earth’s biodiversity—are a growing influence.
Cloning comeback
Marine protected area coverage
20% Elizabeth Ann was cloned from
of oceans the cells of another black-footed
ferret preserved for more than
10 30 years. Overseen by the U.S.
7.9% Fish and Wildlife Service, the
cloning was the first successful
1990 2000 2010 2021 2030 replication of a wild, endangered
species in North America.

ILLUSTRATIONS: MATTHEW TWOMBLY; NGM MAPS. SOURCES: MARINE PROTECTION ATLAS, MARINE
CONSERVATION INSTITUTE; PRISTINE SEAS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY; MARINEREGIONS.ORG

JUNE 08 SHRINKING HABITATS THREATEN GIRAFFES

Giraffes move
through Chobe
National Park, in
Botswana, at sunset.
Because most giraffe
habitats in Africa are
outside protected
areas, urban develop-
ment, crop growing,
and livestock graz-
ing are isolating the
animals into smaller,
more fragmented pop-
ulations. As a result,
extinction threatens
the world’s tallest land
mammal, whose num-
bers are about 68,000
adults and falling.

I AM SCARED
ABOUT THE
STATE OF NATURE
BUT ALSO
HOPEFUL … NATURE
IS RESILIENT
AND, IF IT [IS]
NOT TAMPERED
WITH, CAN
BOUNCE BACK.”

—Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka,
National Geographic
Explorer and founder of
Conservation Through
Public Health

114

Chobe National Park, Botswana P H OTO G RA P H BY DAVID CHANCELLOR

APR. 09 THE FIGHT TO SAVE CHEETAHS

Samburu National Reserve, Kenya PHOTOGRAPH BY NICHOLE SOBECKI

Veterinarian
Michael Njoroge (at
left), with the Kenya
Wildlife Service,
examines a nearly
unconscious cheetah
that likely was injured
by another animal.
Cosmas Wambua (at
right), co-founder
of the conservation
group Action for Chee-
tahs in Kenya, and Ljalu
Lekalaile, a ranger,
prepare to assist. The
team spent three days
trying—unsuccessfully—
to save the cheetah.
Rangers had named
her Nichole, after
photographer Nichole
Sobecki, a National
Geographic Explorer
who documented the
cat’s plight. Fewer than
7,000 adult cheetahs
remain in the wild,
so conservationists
are going to great
lengths to help each
one survive.

CHEETAHS AREN’T
THE BULLIES
OF THE FELINE
PLAYGROUND.

THEY PURR, NOT
ROAR. THEY AREN’T

DESIGNED TO
FIGHT HARD OR
DEFEND TERRITORY.
AND ALL THIS
CAN LEAVE THEM
VULNERABLE.”

—Nichole Sobecki,
photographer

117

JULY 27 IN DEFENSE OF RATTLESNAKES

An eastern black- and misguided
tailed rattlesnake sits hatred. But they’re
coiled on a log by the important predators
side of a road in the that help control
Davis Mountains of rodent numbers, and
West Texas. Rattle- rattlesnake venom is
snakes long have studied for potential
been killed indiscrim- medical uses—including
inately in the United in cancer and even
States out of fear COVID-19 research.

Davis Mountains, Texas PHOTOGRAPH BY
JAVIER AZNAR GONZÁLEZ DE RUEDA

JULY 12 AN ANCIENT TEMPLE SURVIVES—FOR NOW

Members of a
wedding party made
up of local tribesmen
loyal to Yemen’s gov-
ernment visit the ruins
of the Awwam Temple,
in Marib, to take pho-
tos. The ancient temple
is one of the most
important surviving
monuments of the
Kingdom of Saba,
which ruled southern
Arabia from about the
11th century B.C. to the
third century A.D. and
has been linked by
some historians to
the biblical land of
Sheba. The antiquities,
on the edge of the
most hotly contested
part of Yemen, remain
at risk as Iran-backed
Houthi rebels continue
their fight to take
over Marib.

120

Marib, Yemen PHOTOGRAPH BY MOISES SAMAN

JUNE 03 A NEW WINDOW INTO EGYPT’S PAST

Cairo, Egypt P H OTO G RA P H BY PAOLO VERZONE

The boyish face
of King Tutankhamun
greets visitors at the
Egyptian Museum,
in Cairo. This life-size
model, which may
have served as a
mannequin to display
royal robes or jewelry,
is one of more than
5,000 treasures from
the young pharaoh’s
tomb that are being
restored and prepared
for display at the
new Grand Egyptian
Museum, planned to
open in late 2022.
An international team
of scholars at the
museum’s conservation
laboratory is restoring
a steady stream of
artifacts from across
the country.

OTHER EGYPTIAN
ROYALS ARE

KNOWN TO HAVE
BEEN BURIED IN
THE SAME VALLEY
AS KING TUT, BUT

THEIR TOMBS
AWAIT DISCOVERY.

123

AUG. 01 LOOKING TO THE PAST TO UNITE SUDAN

Jabal Barkal, Sudan PHOTOGRAPH BY NICHOLE SOBECKI

Sudanese tourists
climb Jabal Barkal, a
sacred butte over-
looking pyramids built
during the Kingdom
of Kush, which domi-
nated the political and
cultural landscape of
northeastern Africa
from about the eighth
century B.C. to the
fourth century A.D.
A new generation of
Sudanese has revived
and embraced this
ancient history as a
unifying force that
cuts across diverse
ethnic and racial lines
as the country emerges
from a 30-year dicta-
torship. However, the
military’s dissolution
of the transitional
government in late
October threatened
Sudan’s progress
toward stability.

SUDAN HAS
MORE PYRAMIDS

THAN EGYPT.

125

JULY 23 PRESERVING A PREHISTORIC MONUMENT

Wiltshire, England PHOTOGRAPH BY REUBEN WU

Stonehenge, built Two months earlier, a
some 5,000 years ago judge had ruled that
in southern England, plans to move the nearby
first underwent con- highway underground
servation work in to reduce traffic and
1901 after one of the noise were unlawful,
sarsens and its lintel suspending a project
fell—a concern for pub- many archaeologists
lic safety. Preservation worried would destroy
in September involved undiscovered artifacts.
repairing cracks and Photographer Reuben
repacking joints with Wu layered 11 exposures
mortar to stabilize the taken over 30 minutes
stones and protect to create the lighting
them from erosion. effects in this image.

A LAST LOOK AT 2021

PHOTOGRAPH BY ILLUSTRATION BY IMAGES BY PHOTOGRAPH BY
KRIS MARKOS EUROPEAN SPACE MATTHIEU
KAY AGENCY; NASA, USGS PALEY
GRAVES

PHOTOGRAPH BY ART BY PHOTOGRAPHS BY ART BY
BRIAN KADIR ELLIOT FERNANDO G.
NELSON ROSS
SKERRY BAPTISTA

ART BY ILLUSTRATION BY ART BY PHOTOGRAPH BY
MONICA BOSE KADIR CHARLIE
SERRANO NELSON
COLLINS HAMILTON JAMES

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