This week's best wildlife photographs from around the world capture a hungry hoopoe, a hot crocodile, and a snoozing otter pup, among other remarkable scenes.
Hoopoe Returns to Nest in Turkey
A hoopoe delivers dinner to its chick in a garden in Bursa, Turkey. This is the eighth consecutive year this hoopoe has returned to the same site, where it nests in a wooden barrel. It has raised three chicks this season.
Mugger Crocodile Cools Off in Sri Lanka
A mugger crocodile keeps its mouth open to stay cool in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. If its body temperature goes above 38C, it could die of hyperthermia.
Sea Otter Pup Snoozes in California
A sea otter tucks in her pup for a snooze in Pacific Grove, California, US.
Other Highlights
- Black swans in Dawlish, Devon, UK: a cygnet gets a ride along Dawlish Water as the latest brood from the town's famous dark swans make their first appearance.
- Pierre's wart frog in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: boldly defying the old adage that frogs always have smooth skin while toads are bumpy.
- Hoverfly on a flower in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK.
- Gulls feed on pearl mullet in a river in Van, Turkey.
- Sika deer forage in the rain at a nature reserve in Qiqihar, north-east China.
- Rare video footage of a ringtail, a nocturnal and elusive mammal, captured in Oregon, US. The animal is a little smaller than a cat with a lemur-like tail, but is most closely related to the raccoon.
- Endangered loggerhead sea turtle lays eggs on the beach at the Belek coast near Antalya, Turkey.
- Egret chicks wait in their nest in Gimcheon, South Korea.
- Grasshopper rests in a garden in Assam, India.
- Elephant tries its luck with drivers on a road bordering Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.
- Red fox cub emerges from its den with its mother in Kars, Turkey.
- Dolphins swim in the waters around Istanbul, Turkey as teams from the Marine Life Protection Association and WWF Turkey observe them for a research project.
- Buffalo swim in Erzurum, Turkey, taking advantage of a recent rainy spell that created small ponds in the meadows.
- Fruit bat flies near a gold mine in Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The fruit bat populations roosting in the mines are the primary cause of the current Ebola epidemic.
- Male and female damselflies court during the initial stage of mating in Moreton, Essex, UK.
- Pair of one-horned rhinoceroses graze in Kaziranga National Park in Assam, India.
This collection showcases the diversity of wildlife across continents, from the familiar to the rare, highlighting both beauty and the challenges animals face.
