Today marks the fifth anniversary of World Wildlife Day, the United Nations-backed celebration of all the animals that share our planet. And this is the first year that World Wildlife Day is focusing on marine life. Fin whales, like the one in our photo today, are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the conservation status rankings. So, they’re threatened by climate change, pollution, shipping, and other concerns, but they’ve bounced back from the brink since the early 1900s, by which time centuries of whaling crews had hunted fin whales to near extinction.
Fin whales: A success story
Today in History
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Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
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World Poetry Day
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Fire-damaged forest near Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado
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It s ∞ Day!
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White Sands National Park turns 90
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The most Instagrammable bird?
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Cinco de Mayo
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Whatever floats your boat
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Celebrating Native American Heritage Month
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Three cheers for polar bears!
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San Blas Islands, Panama
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Life in the slow lane
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Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
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Big sky at Big Bend
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Procida, Italy
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Vieste, Apulia, Italy
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Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany
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Behold the perfect cone
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We have liftoff!
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Mackerel forming a bait ball to avoid predators
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Castle on a hill
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Castle Square, Old Town, Warsaw, Poland
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Astrotourism at its finest
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Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California
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The moon rises for Mid-Autumn Festival
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Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
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Anybody out there?
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Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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Zion National Park, Utah
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Siblings that play together…