National Geographic Features Rare Great White Shark Encounter Off Maine Coast

NEW YORK — National Geographic has released its Pictures of the Year for 2025, showcasing 25 remarkable photographs that highlight people, places, cultural moments, and wildlife. Among the selected images is a rare encounter with a great white shark off the coast of Maine, captured by photographer Brian Skerry.

Skerry, who has documented marine life for decades, described the sighting as his first close encounter with a great white shark in the Gulf of Maine. The shark, approximately 10 feet long, was observed from just four feet away, an unexpected proximity in a region where such sightings have been historically uncommon. Officials note that shark sightings from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia appear to be increasing, potentially linked to changing climate patterns.

The National Geographic collection also features other notable wildlife photographs taken in the United States, including images from California and Wisconsin. One photograph from Berkeley, California, by Anand Varma, captures the developmental stage of bird embryos incubated in artificial shells, revealing the moment when an egg yolk is still visible but the bird form has clearly emerged. Varma has also raised some of these embryos to chicks, which were donated to community members.

Another image from Davis, California, shows a sunflower chimney bee resting on a cluster of ocher petals, likely after a day of pollination. This species often nests at the base of sunflowers and moves with commercial farmers as they rotate crops.

In Wisconsin, a photograph depicts a two-day-old genetically modified piglet bred to potentially provide kidneys for human transplantation. This scientific advancement offers hope for thousands of Americans awaiting kidney transplants, many of whom remain on waiting lists for extended periods.

National Geographic editors stated that the selected images were chosen from thousands of photographs taken worldwide and represent those that moved and inspired them the most in 2025. Captions and details accompanying the photos are provided by National Geographic.