The Week in Wildlife – in pictures

The best of the week’s wildlife pictures from around the world, including a Eurasian lynx and rescued caymans

Main image: A seal at Blakeney Point, Norfolk, UK. About one in 400 grey seals are melanistic (with increased black pigment). Photograph: Hanne Siebers/National Trust

  • Great cormorants perch on a tree as the sun rises on a misty morning at Taudaha Lake in Nepal.
    Great cormorants perch on a tree as the sun rises on a misty morning at Taudaha Lake in Nepal

  • Deer enjoy snow at a breeding facility at Uludağ University in Bursa, Turkey.
    Deer enjoy snow at a breeding facility at Uludağ University in Bursa, Turkey

  • A female Eurasian lynx in a birch forest near Bardu in Norway. A study to assess views about the possible reintroduction of lynx to Scotland is being launched. The project said research has shown that extensive areas of Scotland could support lynx, and the animals could bring environmental benefits.
    A female Eurasian lynx in a birch forest near Bardu in Norway

  • A seal at Blakeney Point, Norfolk, UK. About one in 400 grey seals are melanistic (with increased black pigment).
    A seal at Blakeney Point, Norfolk, UK. About one in 400 grey seals are melanistic (with increased black pigment)

  • Nubian ibex roam the streets of Mitzpe Ramon in the south of Israel during the national lockdown.
    Nubian ibex roam the streets of Mitzpe Ramon in the south of Israel during the national lockdown

  • Migrating cranes frolic in a rice paddy in the Kangshan reclamation zone near Poyang Lake, in China’s Jiangxi province, one of the birds’ wintering habitats.
    Migrating cranes frolic in a rice paddy in the Kangshan reclamation zone near Poyang Lake, in China’s Jiangxi province, one of the birds’ wintering habitats

  • Starlings perch on the border fence between Israel and Jordan, near Jericho, in the Jordan valley.
    Starlings perch on the border fence between Israel and Jordan, near Jericho, in the Jordan valley

  • The body of a whale recovered by the Italian coastguard in Sorrento harbour. The whale is thought to be one of the largest of its species seen in the Mediterranean. A postmortem examination will be conducted to find the cause of death.
    The body of a whale recovered by the Italian coastguard in Sorrento harbour

  • A Tibetan gazelle on the northern Tibetan plateau.
    A Tibetan gazelle on the northern Tibetan plateau

  • A blacktip shark swimming during a baited shark dive in Umkomaas near Durban, South Africa. The Aliwal shoal, a fossilised sand dune 4km offshore, is one of the few places in the world where blacktip and tiger sharks can safely be observed without a cage.
    A blacktip shark

  • A tiger-striped butterfly in a park in Singapore.
    A tiger-striped butterfly in a park in Singapore

  • A Bryde’s whale forages in waters off Weizhou Island, in China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
    Bryde’s whale forages in waters off Weizhou Island in China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

  • A red fox near Bitlis in Turkey. Harsh winter conditions means wild animals often seek food in towns.
    A red fox near Bitlis in Turkey

  • An eagle flies over the mountains of Srinagar in the Jammu and Kashmir territory, India.
    An eagle flies over the mountains of Srinagar in the Jammu and Kashmir territory, India

  • A cayman at a lake in Ita, Paraguay. Volunteer firefighters rescued seven caymans on the streets of Ita after the lake flooded during heavy rains last week.
    A cayman at a lake in Ita, Paraguay

  • Conservationists reintroduce 30 Javan slow lorises into their natural habitat in Mount Halimun Salak national park in Indonesia. The lorises were released in two groups of 15. Both groups will spend up two weeks in a habituation enclosure before finally being given full freedom.
    Conservationists reintroduce 30 Javan slow lorises into their natural habitat in Mount Halimun Salak national park in Indonesia. The lorises were released in two groups of 15. Both groups will spend up two weeks in a habituation enclosure before finally being given full freedom

  • Grey herons approach for landing on the partially frozen Max-Eyth-See, an artificial lake in Stuttgart, southern Germany.
    Grey herons approach for landing on the partially frozen Max-Eyth-See, an artificial lake in Stuttgart, southern Germany

  • A nilgai – the largest Asian antelope – stands in a mustard field on the outskirts of Allahabad in India.
    A nilgai – the largest Asian antelope – stands in a mustard field on the outskirts of Allahabad in India

  • Coyotes prowl the streets of Cartago, Costa Rica, a sight becoming more frequent in the country’s urban areas.
    Coyotes prowl the streets of Cartago, Costa Rica, a sight becoming more frequent in the island’s urban areas

  • Some of the 1,200 cape cormorant chicks rescued from Robben Island at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, Cape Town. The chicks’ parents abandoned them, it is thought, for a lack of food, mostly anchovies.
    Some of the 1,200 cape cormorant chicks rescued from Robben Island

  • Monkeys wait for food at Kyauk Taw mountain in Rakhine state, Myanmar. The monkeys are suffering as visitor numbers are dwindling in the coronavirus pandemic.
    Monkeys wait for food at Kyauk Taw mountain in Rakhine state, Myanmar. The monkeys are suffering as visitor numbers are dwindling in the coronavirus pandemic

  • A Cacatua sulphurea (yellow-crested cockatoo) at the wildlife rescue centre in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The centre was founded in 2010 to rehabilitate and release protected and endangered species back into the wild. However, due to the Covid pandemic, the centre may be forced to close next month.
    A Cacatua sulphurea at the Wildlife Rescue Centre in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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