Biologists Jenna Cormany (L) and Lauryn Wright of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources help to release a leatherback turtle in Isle of Palms, South Carolina March 12, 2015. The 475-pound turtle was the first living leatherback turtle to be recovered in South Carolina and one of only a handful ever treated at rehabilitation facilities in the United States. It was found March 7 on the beach on Yawkey-South Island Reserve, a 3.5-mile-long (5.6-km-long) barrier island and wildlife preserve near Georgetown, South Carolina. (Photo by Randall Hill/Reuters)

View of the “Sunset Lake” hot spring with it's unique colors caused by brown, orange and yellow algae-like bacteria called Thermophiles, that thrive in the cooling water turning the vivid aqua-blues to a murkier greenish brown, in the Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on June 1, 2011. Yellowstone National Park, was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Grant on March 1, 1872. The park is located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho and was the first national park in the world. It is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially the Old Faithful Geyser. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)

Pupils look at an orphaned baby elephant at the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage within the Nairobi National Park, near Kenya's capital Nairobi October 15, 2014. The orphanage under the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is operated by Daphne Sheldrick, wife of late famous naturalist David William Sheldrick. The orphaned elephants raised by the trust will be returned to join the undomesticated elephant population in Tsavo National Park, where David was the founder warden from 1948 to 1976, when they mature, usually between eight to 10 years old. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

The Rainbow Warrior III, the newest ship of the enivornmental conservation organization Greenpeace, makes its way to port on the Elbe River on October 20, 2011 in Hamburg, Germany. The Rainbow Warrior III, 53 meters long, designed by Greenpeace and built in Poland and Germany, is a EUR 23 million project completed last week. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Key Gompa (also spelled Ki, Kye or Kee) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres (13,668 ft) above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul and Spiti district, India. It is the biggest monastery of Spiti Valley and a religious training centre for Lamas. It reportedly had 100 monks in 1855.

Members of the media film as a ranger performs a post mortem on the carcass of a rhino after it was killed for its horn by poachers at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga province August 27, 2014. Rhino poachers in South Africa now risk giving themselves away when they shoot thanks to a high-tech, gunfire-detection system being piloted in the country's flagship Kruger National Park. The stakes are high, for rhinos are being slain in escalating numbers for their prized horns, alarming both conservationists and the government since wildlife in South Africa is an important tourist draw. (Photo by Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters)

Kevin Russ, a photographer & image moderator for iStockphoto, grew up in Arroyo Grande, California. In 2003, he made the move to Portland, planning to study at Multnomah Bible College. Finding the workload to be minimal, Kevin invested in a camera, filling his free time and finding himself instantly smitten with the craft. A year and a half later, photography had evolved into his full-time job. However, after 4 years of consistent portrait work, Kevin became burnt out and took a step back from photography altogether. Two years later, he picked up the camera again and now spends the majority of his time on the road, exploring & photographing the rustic landscapes & wildlife he encounters.

A new book published by the UK Natural History Museum showcases some of the most memorable underwater photographs taken over the last few decades in its annual wildlife photographer of the year competition. Here: Giant gathering by Tony Wu. “The first indication that something extraordinary was going on were the blows, huge numbers of them – the exhalations of huge numbers of whales. Entering the water, the photographer witnessed an extraordinary scene”. (Photo by Tony Wu/Unforgettable Underwater Photography/NHM)