Week in Wildlife: A Chonky Sea Lion, Amorous Toads and an Adorable Gosling
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world capture a range of fascinating moments, from a famously bulky sea lion in San Francisco to a greylag gosling nibbling in a London park.
Marine Marvels
A Steller sea lion basks among California sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco, US. This species is lighter than its Californian cousins, but much bigger. One particularly bulky Steller sea lion in the area has gone viral, gaining the nickname Chonkers and becoming the city’s unofficial mascot.
A rescued sea otter orphan, Sunny, and an adult female, Rey, share a snack at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, US.
Birds of All Feathers
Guillemots have returned to the Farne Islands, and nature-lovers will be able to watch their antics as “puffin-cams” go live for a second year on the nature reserve. The National Trust has installed the cameras to give viewers a front-row seat as 200,000 or so seabirds settle down off the coast of Northumberland to nest and raise chicks.
To the southwest, an Atlantic puffin on Skomer Island, Wales, UK. Officials there recorded a record number of puffins this year: 52,019. “After the tragic number of seabirds washing up on beaches across southern Europe earlier this year, we weren’t expecting a count this high this season. It’s a very pleasant surprise to see the puffin population thriving,” said the warden.
A greylag gosling nibbles on a plant in St James’s Park, London, UK.
A cock pheasant caught on a camera trap in a bluebell wood in Shropshire, UK.
A common merganser mother, nicknamed Justyna, leads her eight ducklings from Lazienkowski Park in central Warsaw towards the Vistula River under the watchful eyes of volunteers and city parks department employees.
A parrot with its chick in their nest in Ajmer, India.
A flock of pelicans gather and rest in shallow waters at the Sarıyar dam, Turkey.
A mother duck takes her brood for a stroll through Bath Spa University’s Newton Park campus in Somerset, England, UK.
Amphibians and Reptiles
Women’s work … a female toad carries two males towards a spawning area in the Sestroretsk bog natural reserve near St Petersburg, Russia.
An invasive green iguana, native to Central and South America, at Wakodahatchee wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida.
Terrapins enjoy the sun, perched on a floating log in a lake at the City Park in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia.
A cattle egret catches a frog among reeds at the Sarıyar dam, Turkey.
An alligator swims in the shallow waters of Wakodahatchee wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida, US.
An oriental garden lizard sits on a tree trunk to catch flying prey in Tehatta, West Bengal, India. These lizards are known for their ability to change colour and blend in to their surroundings, chameleon-style.
Mammals and More
A field mouse emerges in a city park in St Petersburg, Russia.
Busted … US officials get ready to relocate a bear in Pacoima, California, on the fringes of Los Angeles. The 125kg bear had been wandering around the neighbourhood for a few days, endangering golfers who tried to take selfies with it, and coming uncomfortably close to a primary school.
A Barbary macaque sits on a stone wall on the Rock of Gibraltar. These macaques, native to north Africa, are the only Old World monkeys living wild in Europe.
A new project using GPS to track hedgehogs in Northern Ireland has been launched, with the aim of protecting the species. Conservation charity Ulster Wildlife is behind the GPS tracking scheme, designed to understand hedgehogs’ nocturnal activities to help safeguard their future.
A young grasshopper rests atop a rose in Los Angeles, US.
Ants cross a gravel path in Oregon, US.
X factor … a signature spider hangs from its web in Assam, India.
Langur monkeys cosy up to a bull in Pushkar, India.
