Excellent Wildlife and Nature Pictures

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This siphonophore was spotted by scientists on the Nautilus expedition. Siphonophores are made up of many smaller animals called zooids, and can be found floating around the pelagic zone in ocean basins around the world. One famous species is the deadly Portuguese man o' war. Photograph: Nautilus Live

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Rescuers work to keep a juvenile humpback whale alive until high tide after it became stranded at Palm Beach on the Gold Coast, Australia. The whale was eventually returned to the sea. Photograph: Glenn Hampson/Rex Features

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The peloton cycles past sunflowers and a bee near the village of Chamblay during the 11th stage of the 101st Tour de France. Photograph: Bas Czerwinski/EPA

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A solitary desert elephant bull (Loxodonta africana) walks through sand dunes on the Skeleton Coast, Namibia. Conservation groups are calling for members of the public to sign a petition after Namibia's decision to grant more elephant hunting licences. Photograph: Jami Tarris/Corbis

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A dragonfly stays on a lotus bud on July 12, 2014 at the Lotus Park in Luoyang, Henan Province, China. Photograph: Wang Song/Corbis

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Two women beside one of the pilot whales that died after deliberately beaching in Falcarragh, Ireland. The pod had originally been rescued, but beached a second time. Photograph: Stephen Barnes/Corbis

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Small sharks (smoothhounds and catsharks) strewn across beach on the shores of the Gower peninsula, Wales. Marine Biologist Judith Oakley believes they may have been discarded by fishermen. Photograph: Oakley Intertidal

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