IN PICS | 10 epic nature snaps that show why the Earth is worth saving

Prints for Nature is an initiative to raise funds for conservation — and your chance to own a NatGeo hotshot’s work. Here's a selection of stellar photos from this charitable campaign

29 November 2020 - 00:01 By Elizabeth Sleith

National Geographic — the official magazine of the US-based non-profit National Geographic Society — has been published continuously since 1888.

It may surprise you to learn that the first issue contained not a single photo, since today it is synonymous with stunning photography, its pages perpetually showcasing the incredible beauty and wonders of Earth.

In a year when most intrepid travellers had to hang up their hiking boots, 85 of the magazine's leading photographers got involved in a mission to raise funds for conservation, so damaged by the Covid-19 crisis.

The argument behind the Prints for Nature campaign is that the plummet in global tourist numbers has meant a nose-dive in funding for nature and wildlife protection as well as for the communities who rely on them for their livelihood.

Typically, works by these shooters sell for thousands of dollars, but their donated prints — criss-crossing the globe from India to Tanzania to Antarctica — are available for $275 (about R4,300) until December 10.

All of the proceeds will go to Conservation International, which works in 30 countries to protect wildlife, forests and oceans, as well as their dependent local communities.

Here we bring you a small, delightful selection from the Prints for Nature collection. See the rest at printsfornature.com.