Week in wildlife – in pictures: pedalo hijinks and a raccoon doing a handstand

2 years ago 397

Cool aerial, dude ... a sandhill crane appears to surf on another as they swoop through the sky in the Platte River Valley in Nebraska, US

Photograph: Peter Batty/Solent News & Photo Agency/Solent News

A sandhill crane appear to surf on another crane’s back as they swoop through the sky in the Platte River Valley in Nebraska, US

Two musk oxen face off in Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park in Norway. The males go head to head to measure their strengths against one another

Photograph: Christain Surber/Solent News & Photo Agency/Solent News

Two musk ox face off in Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park in Norway. The males went head to head to measure their strengths against one another

Watch the fur fly ... two brown hares spar in Hampshire, UK. Wildlife photographer Adam Olliver spotted them at Park Golf Club, Basingstoke: “I spotted a pair of brown hares chasing each other,” he said. “They were stopping every now and then to have a quick fight.”

Photograph: Adam Olliver/mediadrumimages

Two brown hares spar in Hampshire, UK. Brown hares’ powerful hind legs allow them to reach speeds of 45mph (72km/h). Wildlife photographer Adam Olliver spotted the hares at Park Golf Club, Basingstoke: “I spotted a pair of Brown Hares chasing each other,” said Adam.“They were stopping every now and then to have a quick fight.”I witness the fares doing this every year and it is always amazing to see but I was really pleased to have finally captured the moment on camera.

Officials in Queensland, Australia, finally caught a nearly four-metre crocodile in a riverside trap. Nicknamed Herbie, the croc had been ‘stalking’ local animals and people for almost a month.

Photograph: AAP/Department of Environment, Science and Innovation

A nearly 4-metre crocodile which has been “stalking” animals and people in Queensland, Australia for almost a month has been captured by wildlife officers.

An acrobatic raccoon was filmed doing a handstand and walking away on its front paws, for no particular reason, after drinking from a bowl of water in a Colorado woman’s garden. Camera Trap Sue described herself as “surprised but happy” on viewing the footage

Photograph: Camera Trap Sue/PA

A raccoon completing a handstand and walking away on its front paws after drinking water in the wildlife enthusiast’s front garden. Camera Trap Sue, from Colorado, US, has placed a fresh bowl of water and cameras in her front garden every day for the last 16 years to capture the different wildlife that visit

A Caucasian lynx hunts in the snow in eastern Turkey

Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

A Caucasian lynx, which is about to hunt, is seen on a snow-covered rural area in the Sarikamis district of Kars, Turkey

A flamboyance of flamingos (yes, that is the official collective noun) in Ankara, Turkey

Photograph: Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua News Agency/eyevine

Flamingoes are pictured at Selkapini Dam Lake in Ankara, Turkey

A damselfly sits on a leaf in Assam, India. The large blue orbs on either side of its head are its compound eyes; the three black dots in between are its ‘simple eyes’, or ocelli

Photograph: Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

A damselfly is sitting on a leaf in a garden in Nagaon district, Assam, India

A cormorant dries its wings by the Dodder River at Clonskeagh in Dublin, Ireland

Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/PA

A Cormorant on the Dodder River at Clonskeagh in Dublin, Ireland

A female kestrel catches a giant grasshopper near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip

Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

A female Kestrel catches a giant grasshopper near Kibbutz Nir Am along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip

A fox among the blossom at Kew Gardens in London

Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Fox walks near blossoming trees ahead of the ‘Sounds of Blossom’ event at Kew Gardens in LondonA fox walks near blossoming trees ahead of the ‘Sounds of Blossom’ event at Kew Gardens in London, UK

A group of sea lions swim off one of the Palomino islets in Peru – just a few of the 8,000 or more sea lions that live there

Photograph: Paolo Aguilar/EPA

A group of sea lions swim off one of the Palomino Islets, off the coast of Callao, Peru. Less than an hour by boat from Lima, rest a group of islands inhabited by thousands of sea lions, penguins and a great variety of birds

A fox squirrel has a snack on the links at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, US. This one is black due to a genetic variation

Photograph: Douglas P DeFelice/Getty Images

A fox squirrel is seen during the first round of the Valspar Championship at Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 21, 2024 in Palm Harbor, Florida, US

A giant clam is seen next to a replenished coral reef in the waters off Man Nai Island, Thailand

Photograph: Reuters

A giant clam is seen next to a replenished coral reef in the waters off Man Nai Island, off the coast of southeastern Rayong province, Thailand

Four bear cubs enjoyed a free ride at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire, UK, after heavy rain created a makeshift lake in their enclosure. The park had a spare pedalo that was awaiting new pedals, so staff floated it on the giant puddle to see if the bears would like it. Sure enough, Harvard, Maple, Colorado and Aspen climbed aboard almost immediately

Photograph: Woburn Safari Park/SWNS

Bears were spotted enjoying a pedalo after heavy rainfall at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire, UK. The bears took a ride on a pedalo after heavy rain created a makeshift lake

Zebras roam during the third round of the Safari Rally Kenya 2024 Car Championship, in Nairobi, Kenya

Photograph: Nikos Katikis/DPPI/REX/Shutterstock

A startled-looking hedgehog is caught on camera as part of the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, UK. This project is using trail cameras, AI and armchair wildlife-spotters to come up with the first robust estimates for the country’s hedgehog population, in order to help conservation efforts

Photograph: National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme/PA

A hedgehog is spotted as part of the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, UK. A project using trail cameras, AI and armchair wildlife-spotters aims to come up with the first robust estimates for the country’s hedgehog population. The national hedgehog monitoring programme is a three-year pilot scheme that is attempting to gather more robust information on the prickly mammals than previous population estimates to aid their conservation

A black-necked grebe swims on a lake at the RSPB St Aidan’s Nature Park, Yorkshire, UK. These small but stunning waterfowl have been among the country’s rarest breeding birds, but dedicated conservation efforts have resulted in a good year for them last year, with 12 chicks fledging at St Aidan’s

Photograph: Ben Andrew/RSPB/PA

A black necked grebe swims on a lake at the RSPB St Aidan’s Nature Park, Yorkshire, UK. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said the black-necked Grebe saw a surge in the number of breeding pairs in 2023. It comes after a series of dedicated conservation efforts to provide and restore vital wetland habitats at RSPB nature reserves that can support the water birds, which have tufts of golden feathers and red eyes

A grassland earless dragon lizard at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve outside Canberra. Australia’s grassland earless dragon is no bigger than a pinkie as it emerges from its shell, but the little lizard faces an enormous challenge in the years ahead: to avoid extinction. As recently as 2019, scientists in Canberra counted hundreds of grassland earless dragons in the wild. This year, they found 11

Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images