To cool to pass up: A spider tree

The spider tree: Millions of arachnids escape rising floodwater in one of 12 stunning photographs for National Geographic competition By Mark Duell Last updated at 11:21 PM on 16th November 2011 The bonobo chimpanzee stares blankly at the camera, the stingray swims beautifully under the water’s surface and the baby kangaroo pokes its head out from mother’s pouch. These astonishing pictures in a prestigious photography competition show the beauty of weird and wonderful nature on Earth. A lynx can be seen flinching its ear at bothersome gnats in Alaska, a gecko appears startled at a photographer’s presence in Hawaii and Australian Sea lions play in the shallows of Hopkins Island. And in Pakistan millions of spiders were pictured having climbed up into trees to escape rising flood waters. ‘We want to challenge photographers to capture true moments enhanced by composition, lighting and mood - without enhancement through digital effects, photo stitches, HDR and fisheye lenses,’ National Geographic magazine’s executive editor for photography Kurt Mutchler said. The National Geographic Society was founded in 1888 and is one of the world’s largest non-profit science and educational groups, reaching around 400 million people every month. The winner of National Geographic’s 2011 Photography Contest receives prize money of $10,000.