A female Amur tiger has been released into the wild in Kazakhstan, marking a significant step in efforts to re-establish a wild tiger population in the country, where tigers have been absent for over 70 years. The release took place at the Ile-Balkhash nature reserve, and the tiger, named Umit, was seen jumping out of a pickup truck and exploring her new home.
Exmoor eagle and pine martens
In the UK, a young white-tailed eagle has been spotted in Exmoor national park, one of half a dozen released there as part of a project to bring the birds back to England's skies. These eagles, nicknamed “flying barn doors” for their adult wingspan of up to 2.4 metres, were once widespread in southern England until persecution wiped them out in the 18th century.
In a separate success, a family of pine martens has been captured on remote cameras in Exmoor, marking progress in a scheme to reintroduce the rare animals to the south-west. Nineteen pine martens were released last September at secret woodland locations owned by the National Trust and Exmoor National Park Authority.
Global wildlife highlights
From around the world, this week's images include a pair of Pallas's cat kittens in the grasslands near Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China, and flamingos at Düden Lake in central Turkey. In Colombia, a 15-day-old hippopotamus was found alone and dehydrated on a riverbank, but sadly died on Wednesday due to a gastrointestinal disease. The area is home to the world's largest population of hippos outside Africa, descended from four hippos imported by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s.
Camera trap footage from a recent study shows the oldest wild Sunda clouded leopard ever recorded, an eight-and-a-half-year-old female, in Borneo's rainforests with her cub. The species is rarely seen due to low numbers and scattered distribution.
Insect and arachnid encounters
Among the smaller creatures, a goldenrod crab spider was photographed catching an eastern calligrapher fly in Stowe, Vermont, USA. A planthopper insect, Euricania facialis, was seen on a stem in Sangju, South Korea. Jataí bees, known for their small size and prolific honey production, were pictured at their nest in the Jaraguá indigenous territory in Brazil. A pholcid spider, or daddy-long-legs, was captured trying to capture another spider in Franqueville, France.
In Turkey, a steppe agama, related to the bearded dragon, was spotted in Şanlıurfa, along with a Eurasian stone-curlew. In Denizli, a Eurasian hoopoe was seen carrying an insect to its nest.
Rescues and unusual sightings
A tortoise was rescued from railway tracks in Runcorn, Cheshire, with teams from Avanti West Coast and Network Rail collaborating. The tortoise seemed unfazed by its adventure. In central Spain, animal rights activists and volunteers are delivering food and water to wildlife in areas ravaged by fires, to sustain animals until vegetation regrows.
Other images include monkeys cooling off at Swayambhu Mahachaitya temple complex in Kathmandu, Nepal, a crocodile resting in a mangrove forest in El Salvador, and an American toad near a pond in Vermont.
