Honoring the rangers on World Ranger Day Jul 31, 2018

The wildlife ranger in today’s homepage image is conducting a bird census in the rainforests of a rare ecosystem in Chiapas, a state in southern Mexico. Modern-day park rangers perform a variety of tasks in their jobs, and it can be dangerous work. A ranger in the savannahs of Africa may track and apprehend poachers, while rangers in North America might brave harsh conditions to collect valuable data about the health of our forests, waters, and the critters that inhabit those places. So today, World Ranger Day, we honor the rangers who have died or were injured in the line of duty. The important work they do helps us better understand and appreciate the wild world around us.

© Chico Sanchez/Aurora Photos

palette

Today in History

Jul 31, 2019Go climb a tree
Jul 31, 2020The Big Blue of the Sierra
Jul 31, 2021Fashion models of the avian world
Jul 31, 2022Noctilucent clouds
Jul 31, 2023Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
Jul 31, 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Jul 31, 2025Ring-tailed lemur

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 14, 2025Shark Awareness Day
Nov 29, 2022Giving Tuesday
Dec 25, 2022Merry Christmas!
Jul 29, 2020Góða ólavsøku, from the Faroes!
Feb 1, 2022Black History Month
Feb 4, 2021Where is this wintry road?
Jun 6, 2024The 80th anniversary of D-Day
Jan 19, 2023Sundance Film Festival opens in Park City
Oct 16, 2024National Fossil Day
Mar 10, 2024Daylight saving time
Sep 28, 2020Explorer of the sea
Aug 7, 2025National Lighthouse Day
Jun 2, 2025National Garden Week begins today
Apr 5, 2019A day of death and rebirth
Apr 26, 2018National Park Week: Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Mar 15, 2018The Colosseum of Rome, Italy
Aug 5, 2018Friendship Day in the City of Brotherly Love
May 8, 2019’Chess on ice’
May 10, 2020Happy Mother s Day
Aug 11, 2024Wooden path to Kennedy Lake, Vancouver Island, Canada
Nov 13, 2022River Quoich in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Apr 11, 2018Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province, China
Dec 3, 2025Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Jun 21, 2023Summer solstice
Mar 9, 2018The Door County Coastal Byway in Wisconsin
Oct 26, 2018A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
Dec 10, 2018Feeling crabby?
May 8, 2023Arches National Park, Utah
Feb 26, 2021Lighting the way to new beginnings
Mar 1, 2023Womens History Month