Images Dated 1st January 2009

Close-up of Agave, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Agave is a genus of monocots and is a perennial. Chiefly Mexican, agaves occur also in the southern and western United States and in central and tropical South America. They are succulents with a large rosette of thick fleshy leaves, each ending generally in a sharp point and with a spiny margin; the stout stem is usually short, the leaves apparently springing from the root. Along with plants from the related genus Yucca, various Agave species are popular ornamental plants

Lace Monitor lizard (Varanus varius) resting in shade, Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales, Australia

The Lace Monitor or Lace Goanna, (Varanus varius), is a member of the monitor lizard family, Australian members of which are commonly known as goannas. Lace monitors are the second-largest monitor in Australia after the Perentie. They can be as long as 2.1 meters (over 6ft 10ins) with a head and body length of up to 76.5 cm (2Aoe ft)

© This content is subject to copyright.

Killer whales (Orca) (Orcinus orca) in front of tabular icebergs, Southern Ocean

Killer whales (Orca) (Orcinus orca) in front of tabular icebergs, Southern Ocean, Antarctica, Polar Regions

© Thorsten Milse

Animal, Animal Themes, Animals In The Wild, Antarctic, Color Image, Distant, Dorsal Fin, Four Animals, Horizon Over Water, Horizontal, Killer Whales, Landscape, Nature, No People, Orca, Orcinus Orca, Outdoors, Part Of, Photography, Pod, Scen Ic, Scenics, Side View, Southern Ocean, Swimming, Tabular Icebergs, Wild, Wild Life