National Geographic releases its ‘Pictures of the Year’: See some of the jaw-dropping shots

Field specialists examine a North Island brown kiwi two months after 11 of the birds were released outside New Zealand’s capital. A national symbol, kiwis have been decimated by predators, especially stoats, introduced in the 1800s. (Photo by Robin Hammond)

To better study how cells from one region of the brain connect with cells in others, Yale researchers looked for a way to reanimate recently dead brain tissue. The team succeeded with a pig’s brain by combining a custom drug cocktail (blue) with an oxygen carrier (dark red).  (Photo by Max Aguilera-Hellweg)

Volcanologists and mountaineers return after a weeks-long expedition to Mount Michael, a remote volcano in the South Sandwich Islands. The team made a successful first ascent and study of the peak, which holds one of Earth’s few lava lakes. (Photo by Renan Ozturk)

Streaked with sunlight and crowded together for warmth in winter, monarch butterflies blanket fir trees in El Rosario Sanctuary. Photographer Rojo received special permits to work outside the sanctuary’s operating hours. He took this photograph shortly before sunset.  (Photo by Jaime Rojo)

Soon after dawn at Lemek Conservancy, spotted hyenas arrive at a pond to drink. Widely misunderstood, hyenas are fierce, intelligent and social, living and hunting as members of matriarchal clans. Photographer Jen Guyton captured this closeup with an armored, remote-controlled robot designed by National Geographic photo engineers. (Photo by Jen Guyton)

At a military facility north of the Arctic Circle, Finnish and U.S. soldiers train for winter warfare by navigating an obstacle course while on skis. The exercise took place two months before Finland — which shares an 800-mile border with Russia — joined NATO. The training was arranged in response to the war in Ukraine. (Photo by Louie Palu)

Caver Valentina Mariani (above), National Geographic Explorer Kenny Broad (center), and Nadir Quarta prepare for a dive into the dark, toxic waters of Lago Verde. Such sunlight-starved ecosystems could offer a glimpse into the chemistry of life in alien seas. (Photo by Carsten Peter)