14 / 14
Gulls fly over a snow covered field in the Scottish borders
13 / 14
Wild boar should be allowed to regain their natural place in the UK's woodlands, the Wildwood Trust urged today as it welcomed the birth of three new piglets to its resident boar couple
Photograph: Wildwood Trust/PA
12 / 14
New-born female hog deer named "Manja", 2 months, looks from behind it's cage at Malaysia's National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur
Photograph: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters
11 / 14
A
painted stork (L) returns with a tree branch to make a nest on a
tamarind tree at Mechirajupalli village in Warangal District, 200km
from Hyderabad. Painted storks (mycteria leucocephala) are migratory
birds which nest in the area from January till June
Photograph: Noah Seelam*/AFP/Getty Images
10 / 14
A
tree forest in Baruk in the mountainous Shouf area. Lebanon's majestic
cedar trees have withstood the test of time for centuries but climate
change is threatening them. Used by various civilisations throughout
history for their strong and durable wood, Lebanon's cedars are now on
the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List as a
"heavily threatened" species
Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images
9 / 14
A
bighorn sheep is seen at the Wildlife Research and Conservation Centre
in Toluca, Mexico. From the live snakes that smugglers stuff with
packets of cocaine to the white tigers drug lords keep as exotic pets,
rare animals are being increasingly sucked into Mexico's deadly
narcotics trade. Following the lead of their Colombian counterparts,
Mexico's flashy drug lords like to show off rarities like sea turtle
skin boots and build ostentatious private zoos
Photograph: Stringer/Reuters
8 / 14
The
Achaea catocaloides caterpillar is seen in this undated handout picture
released this week. Liberia's agriculture minister said that caterpillars infesting villages,
destroying crops and threatening food security of an estimated 350,000
people were of the Achaea catocaloides species. The species thrives in
forest environments and eats all vegetation, including cocoa trees,
which could be a threat to plantations in West Africa if the conditions
remain conducive for reproduction
Photograph: HO/REUTERS
7 / 14
Budapest Zoo's 19-year-old polar bear, Lady, catches fish in her pool
Photograph: Bela Szandelszky/AP
6 / 14
A startled hippotomus dashes from his hiding place, Shire River, Liwonde National Park, Malawi
Photograph: David Hobcote/ Rex Features
5 / 14
A species of rain frog (Pristimantis genus)
potentially new to science was discovered in the hills of Tacarcuna,
Colombia. Ten new species of amphibians – including three kinds of
poisonous frogs and three transparent-skinned glass frogs – have been
discovered in the mountains of Colombia, conservationists said this week
Photograph: HO/Reuters
4 / 14
Animals graze on wasteground close to the main British base at Basra airport in Iraq
Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
3 / 14
A handout picture from the Smithsonian Institute portrays a prehistoric snake after fossils
of the world's largest serpent were found in Cerrejon, Colombia. The
fossils, weighing 1,143kg and dating back 60m years, indicate that the
serpent was about 13 metres long
Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images
2 / 14
Baby
anteater Benita rests on the shoulder of a zoo keeper in Berlin. Benita
was born in December last year and is being bottlefed as her mother was
not able to bring her up. She now weighs 3.3kg
Photograph: Steffi Loos/AFP/Getty Images
1 / 14
A
heron flies over Dojran Lake, 106 miles south of the Macedonian capital
Skopje. The lake survived an ecological disaster after a drought and
excessive use of its water, which caused levels to fall nearly 10
metres (33ft). Two rivers were re-directed to the lake and have
restored the life to the lake
Photograph: Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters