Karen Ramstead's sled dog team during the 2005 Iditarod Great Sled Race in Alaska

Image by:  © AlaskaStock / Photolibrary

the pursuit is on
as the pack determines to
finish with a smile

 

Western green tree frog leaping

Image by:  © David A. Northcott / Corbis

to reach our target
sometimes what we need to do
is a leap of faith

 

Florida manatee in the Crystal River, Florida

Image by:  © Wayne Lynch / Corbis

beast of the ocean
unique in its own feature
gentle character

 

Japanese macaque monkeys in the Jigokudani Nature Reserve, Chubu, Japan

Image by:  © Peter Adams Photography Ltd. / Getty Images

no sanctuary
is better place in the cold
than warmth of true friends

 

Hippopotamus males fighting in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Image by:  © Nigel Dennis / Gallo Images / Getty Images

only the strongest
always the determined one
prevails in the end

 

One of the groundhogs at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois

Image by:  © Tim Boyle / Getty Images

steadily staring
even a single whisker
no motion at all

 

Female green ringtail possum with a joey in her pouch, Queensland, Australia

Image by:  © Dave Watts / Visuals Unlimited, Inc.

guarded and sheltered

the young finds a hiding place

in parent's embrace

Polar bear rolling on the frozen Beaufort Sea, near Point Barrow, Alaska

Image by:  © Patrick J Endress / Visuals Unlimited

tired of recent hunt

resting over arctic bed

wishing for a meat

Black-backed jackal pups

Image by:  © Jami Tarris / Corbis

don't cry dear brother

mother will be back later

she's out to search food

A herd of guanacos (Lama guanicoe) in southern Patagonia, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Images by:  © Steve Ogle / Corbis

eight sexy llamas
long-legged, lush eyelashes
beauties in the wild

 

* my fun take! - in lieu with the Miss Universe pageant

A pair of wallabies in Australia

Images by:  © Randy Olson / Getty Images

playing hide-and-seek

parents grazing the green grass

joey still missing