For a look back at the headlines Mother Nature made this year, check out National Geographic’s top ten list [1] of news stories from 2005. The readers’ choice list includes stories big and small, from Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami to a nine-foot-long catfish caught in Thailand and a lifelike android created in Japan.

More fascinating than the stories may be this sneak peek into what sparks readers’ interest. (A photo of a python who died after trying to eat an alligator comes in at number seven.)

The magazine’s web site also features a top ten list of nature and science videos [2] from 2005. Watch footage of an elusive giant squid, a simulation of Katrina’s path of destruction across the Gulf Coast, conservationist Michael Fay’s 15-month flight across Africa in a small plane, and killer hornets attacking bees.

Photo credit: South Florida NRC/National Geographic News [3]