Lala locks eyes with Kristi Odom’s camera. The jaguar’s steely stare reveals nothing of her distressing story. Lala survived illegal wildlife trafficking in the Bolivian Amazon and now lives in a sanctuary with other rescued big cats. As a filmmaker and photographer, Odom travels to remote places to document our planet’s biodiversity and the threats to endangered creatures like Lala.
The photograph of Lala (seen below) is part of a collection from Vital Impacts, a non-profit focused on conservation efforts through storytelling work with visual journalists. For its current initiative, Vital Impacts is selling 100 breathtaking prints from notable photographers to support indigenous communities through COICA (Convening Group of Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon).
Follow Kristi on Instagram @kristiodom. Credit: Kristi Odom/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Kristi Odom
“It is my hope that this work will help raise awareness of the urgent challenges facing our planet,” Vital Impacts founder Ami Vitale said. “In the last fifty years, we have lost 73 percent of the world’s wildlife—a stark reminder of the magnitude of the biodiversity crisis we are confronting. The future of our planet is in our hands. We cannot afford to feel paralyzed by the scale of the challenge nor can we afford to wait for someone else to act – this is up to us.”
The campaign runs through January 31. More information can be found at Vital Impacts. (Click to expand images to full size.)

Follow Steve on Instagram @stevewinterphoto. Credit: Steve Winter/Courtesy of Vital Impacts DAVID WHITE


Follow Jody MacDonald on Instagram @jodymacdonaldphoto Credit: Jody MacDonald/Courtesy of Vital Impacts Jody MacDonald


Follow Jim on Instagram @JimRichardsonNG. Credit: Jim Richardson/Courtesy of Vital Impacts Jim Richardson

Follow Brian on Instagram @BrianSkerry. Credit: Brian Skerry/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Brian Skerry

Follow Arnfinn on Instagram @arnfinn_johansen. Credit: Arnfinn Johansen/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Arnfinn Johansen

Follow Melanie on Instagram @melaniemuellerphoto. Credit: Melanie Miller/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Melanie M¸ller

Follow Christian on instagram @christianvizl. Credit: Christian Vizl /Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Christian Vizl

Follow Mitty on Instagram @mitty. Credit: Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Cristina Mittermeier

Follow Marina on Instagram @marinacano. Credit: Marina Cano/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. MARINA CANO

Credit: Stefan Christmann/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Stefan Christmann

Follow Karine on Instagram @kaigner. Credit: Karine Aigner/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. Karine Aigner

Follow Shane on Instagram @shanegrossphoto. Credit: Shane Gross/Courtesy of Vital Impacts. SHANE GROSS