National Geographic, formerly National Geographic Magazine, has come a long way since it was first published in 1818.

That means that they have been going for 201 years. Not bad.

Most of us remember the yellow covered Nat Geo mags stacked on a shelf when we were growing up, and everyone seemed to have them. Nowadays, of course, National Geographic is online and keeping up with the times.

According to the Washington Post, they’re currently celebrating 100 million followers on Instagram.

Chew on that number, “Insta-influencers”.

As part of the celebration, National Geographic has posted the pics that their 100 million followers liked most.

Each image on this page received over 750,000 engagements (likes plus comments), offering a glimpse of what type of photographs and stories resonate around the world. From massive storms to curious animals, these are the stories that connect us.

In honour of their longevity and ability to keep more followers than Kim Kardashian, here are our favourites from the list of most liked pics on their Instagram account, @natgeo.

Wildlife ranger Joseph Wachira, 26, comforts Sudan, the last living male northern white rhino on the planet, moments before he passed away in March 2018 – photo: Ami Vitale

The panda suit is an attempt to limit human contact with the pandas at Wolong Nature Reserve’s Hetaoping centre, even during routine visits – photo: Ami Vitale

Kaiau, who lives in the Posto Awã community in Brazil, is photographed with a baby black-bearded saki monkey – photo: Charlie Hamilton James

Faa Mai, a two-year-old elephant, gets a hug from Lek, the founder of an elephant sanctuary in Thailand – photo: Rena Effendi

This sloth and 21 other animals were rescued in the town of Puerto Alegría, Peru, where they were kept illegally to pose with tourists for selfies – photo: Kirsten Luce

Danila, 14, the daughter of a rancher, holds a young alpaca in Cuchurro Valley, Peru. She and her brother are responsible for its well-being – photo: Robert Clark

Mr Blue has lived most of his life within the borders of Yellowstone National Park. One of the most amazing aspects of Mr Blue’s character is that he seems to have an ability to mingle his way into existing wolf packs – photo: Ronan Donovan

A curious teenaged male polar bear investigates the hood of the photographer’s truck in Kaktovik – photo: Katie Orlinsky

Sledge dogs enjoy some downtime in the summer heat in Tasiilaq, Greenland –  photo: Keith Ladzinski

A grey seal folds its flippers in the Gulf of Maine, an ecosystem threatened by decades of pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing, and bottom trawling – photo: Brian Skerry

Some top snaps there.

You can visit their Instagram account here if you want to ogle at a few more. It’ll do you good to have something in your feed that isn’t a yoga pic or make-up tutorial.

[source:washingtonpost&nationalgeographic]