This week's best wildlife photographs from around the world capture extraordinary moments, from a baby pangolin receiving medical care to a disabled gorilla defying the odds. In Indonesia, a baby pangolin suffering from sinusitis was treated by medics from International Animal Rescue and its partner Yiari. The tiny creature, known for its snout, received expert care to overcome its breathing difficulties.
Gorilla Super-Mum Defies the Odds
In the Congo, a disabled western lowland gorilla named Lengui has given birth in the wild despite being in her 30s and lacking one of her hands. Her hand was amputated by rescuers after she was trapped in a snare eight years ago. Photographs show her cradling her newborn baby, a testament to her resilience and maternal instinct.
Feathered and Furry Highlights
In Collioure, France, gulls were seen scavenging food, while a Mabel's orchard orb weaver spider rested in its web in Orlando, Florida. This species is appreciated for its multicoloured beauty and appetite for mosquitoes. A young black-tailed deer buck in Oregon munched on weeds, its antlers still covered in velvet, a blood-rich tissue that supplies nutrients for rapid bone growth.
In South Korea, swallow chicks opened their mouths wide to be fed under the eaves of a house. New Zealand's rarest parakeet species, the kākāriki karaka, produced 33 chicks this year from a pair named Nacho and Trixie, who have contributed over 10% of the total population in just two years.
Coastal and Avian Wonders
A multiple-exposure photo composite showed seabirds, including fulmars and northern gannets, flying in formation at Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire. A golden monkey was spotted in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, and three fox cubs were prepared for life in the wild at Ormanya natural life park in Turkey.
Canada geese watched the action at the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix on Notre Dame Island, Quebec. Meanwhile, Basil, a two-year-old British red fox that stowed away on a ship to New York, cleared quarantine after treatment for French heartworm at Bronx Zoo.
Night Creatures and Slow Movers
A frog emerged at night in rural Taichung, Taiwan, and a snail crawled across a trail as a runner jogged past in Sejong, South Korea. Gulls fed on pearl mullets in Van, Turkey, and a Eurasian scops owl blended into its surroundings in Balıkesir, Turkey, thanks to its bark-like plumage.
A hammertail, or robber fly, rested on a leaf in Juno Beach, Florida, known for ambushing other insects mid-flight. A family of wild elephants grazed in the Garo hills, Bangladesh, and a reddish egret, North America's rarest egret, ruffled its feathers in St Petersburg, Florida.
Jellyfish and Peacocks
Dead cannonball jellyfish washed ashore in Santa María Xadani, Mexico, attributed to high temperatures in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. In Ravenna, Italy, over 120 wild peacocks mobbed the seaside resort of Punta Marina after multiplying rapidly during the pandemic, dividing the community on how to handle the oversupply.
An osprey ate a large fish atop a tree in Fort De Soto park, Florida, and a red-winged blackbird puffed out its feathers in a territorial display at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. Finally, a Canada goose helped a boy fish at Victoria Park in Hackney, London.
