Photographer captures amazing images of endangered underwater animals

An American photographer has been wowing audiences with a series of awe-inspiring photographs of endangered marine life.

Conservation advocate Brian Skerry has travelled the globe capturing amazing underwater images from the world's oceans, witnessing some of the most diverse and beautiful yet threatened environments on the planet.

This set of images, called Portraits Of Planet Ocean, is one of three exhibitions that the National Museum of Natural History is unveiling to celebrate the Sant Ocean Hall's fifth year anniversary.

All the images represent a "vanishing world", and Brian's exhibition, along with the two other galleries on show, highlight the important relationship between people and the ocean, and prompts visitors to consider how their actions can foster a healthy and sustainable relationship between humankind and the ocean planet.

The images are truly amazing, from close up encounters with southern right whales and oceanic white tip sharks, to the threats yellow goby fish and sea turtles face.

See a selection of the spectacular pics below:

Southern RIght Whale

Brian Skerry captured this image of his assistant and a curious southern right
whale from Auckland Islands, New Zealand, after swimming with a pod of whales for nearly two hours.

Yellow Goby

Scattered marine debris along the floor of Suruga Bay in Japan poses a range of threats to this yellow goby and other marine life. Toxic substances often leach into the surrounding water, and large pieces of debris can create choking hazards.

Manatee

Despite ongoing conservation efforts, Manatees, such as this one from Crystal River Water, Florida, continue to be endangered due to polluted waterways and boat strikes.

Portraits of Planet Ocean: The Photography of Brian Skerry opens 17 September at the National Museum of Natural History.