Nature & Wildlife Pictures of the Week

A squirrel was apparently so charmed by the prographer that it almost came to a standstill in a human pose.”
by Elizabeth Plugovoy /Nat Geo russia

Playful leopard Xiviti relaxing and grooming his sister Tingana at Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa.
by Christof Schoeman Wildlife Photography
https://www.facebook.com/christofschoemanwildlifephotography

A relaxed sub-adult leopard Xiviti had just feasted on an impala kill which he had made all on his own, at Timbavati, South Africa
by Christof Schoeman Wildlife Photography
https://www.facebook.com/christofschoemanwildlifephotography

Young Elephant at Masai Mara, Kenya
by Corne Schalkwyk/Premier Safaris
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Premier-Safaris/230111593704515

A young cub from the Ximhungwe pride curiously emerges from the rocks.
by Calvin Kotze Wildlife Photography
https://www.facebook.com/CalvinKotzePhotography

Wild Russia

bonobo
by jutta hof photography
http://www.jutta-hof.de/

Leopard !!
by Blain Taylor

“I’m ready for my close-up” — Bantu, a lion cub born in Columbia, checks out the interest..
Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

Lion cub Bantu makes his debut at Cali Zoo, Columbo
Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

Ferocious big cat kitten
Bantu plays with an orange and green ball in the grass of his enclosure at the Cali Zoo
Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

The longer scientists study elephants, the more we realise how special they are. These are creatures that live for around 65 years. Females teach younger elephants about the geography and food of their world, and how to raise young. Elephants display many of the emotions we associate with humans: for example, they love, play and empathise with each other.
Image by Martin Harvey
Sign WWF’s petition to ban the sale of all ivory in Thailand.
http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=14&ea.campaign.id=18354&ea.tracking.id=surl

SAVE AFRICA’S
ELEPHANTS
Across the savannas and forests of Africa, tens of thousands of elephants are being slaughtered each year for their ivory. In many places the species has already been poached to extinction. If we don’t act now there may be no wild elephants left.
In Thailand, massive quantities of illegal African ivory are being laundered through Thai shops because the law allows ivory from domestic Thai elephants to be sold. To save Africa’s elephants it is essential that Thailand closes this legal loophole.
Please sign our petition asking the Thai Prime Minister to ban all ivory trade in Thailand.
In Thailand, elephants are sacred. There is a saying that there would be no Thailand without the elephant. But Thailand is also the biggest unregulated market for ivory in the world. Although it is against the law to sell ivory from African elephants in Thailand, ivory from domestic Thai elephants can be sold legally. As a result, massive quantities of illegal African ivory are being laundered through Thai shops.
To save Africa’s elephants it is essential that Thailand closes this legal loophole. Join us in asking Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to ban all ivory trade in Thailand.
In March, governments from around the world will meet in Bangkok to discuss wildlife trade issues, including the elephant poaching crisis. WWF is collecting petition signatures so that we can present 1 million signatures to Mrs Sinawatra to convince her to implement a ban.
Get involved by signing the petition now.
http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=14&ea.campaign.id=18354&ea.tracking.id=surl

Tiger Vogue
Courtesy of Ana Cristina Ribeiro

Cheetah Yawn
by David Lazaar

Royal Flycatcher

Royal Flycatcher
by Ben Lascelles

Hamlet Fish Sex Ritual

2 sub-adult Male Lions taking a breather and relaxing at Singita Lebombo, Kruger National Park, South Africa
by Ronesh Parbhoo Wildlife Photography
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ronesh-Parbhoo-Wildlife-Photography/177242835673208

African Wild Dogs at Kruger National Park, South Africa
by Ronesh Parbhoor Wildlife Photography
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ronesh-Parbhoo-Wildlife-Photography/177242835673208

Just popping out to pick up the kids
The Cardinal Fish is a mouthbrooder, where the males carry all the eggs in their mouth for weeks, unable even to eat until they have hatched

A Mother’s Pride
by Stephen Oachs Nature Photography
http://stephenoachs.com

A trio of snowy owls
by Stephen Oachs Nature Photography
http://stephenoachs.com

Cheetah Family, Masai Mara, Kenya
by Stephen Oachs Nature Photography
http://stephenoachs.com

Northern Saw Whet in tree cavity
by Mike Lentz Nature Photography
http://www.mikelentzphotography.com/

Contrary to popular belief a black leopard is brindled in colour, not black
Courtesy of Kevin Richardson
https://www.facebook.com/kevinrichardson.zoologist

Snowy-Protrait (
by Judylynn Malloch Photography
http://www.naturestapestryjlm.com/

Resting Spot
Leopard basking in the morning sun at Samburu, Kenya
by Stephen Oachs Nature Photography
http://stephenoachs.com/

Lions of ARTIS
Majestic African Lions at Amsterdam Artis Royal Zoo
by Stephen Oachs Nature Photography
http://stephenoachs.com

Coyote Growl
by Stephen Oachs Nature Photography
http://stephenoachs.com/

A gorilla baby sits in the hands of his mother Changa-Maidi at the zoo in Muenster, western Germany
Picture: Martin Meissner

Cindy Stones, the Small World Supervisor, feeds a seventeen-day old female baby gorilla at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. The gorilla has been ignored by her mother so will be sent to an Ohio zoo and introduced to a new troop.
Picture: The Brownsville Herald, Christian Rodriguez/AP

If a prize were being handed out for the world’s cutest creature, the Siberian flying squirrel would surely win. These large-eyed tree-dwellers could come from a Disney film with their large eyes and, seemingly, expressive features. Photographer Masatsugu Ohashi captured these images of the tiny animals on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Picture: Masatsugu Ohashi/Rex Features

What’s for dinner!!
These two wild foxes were lured to the window of Igor Shpilenok’s remote log cabin by the smell of his cooking…
Picture: Igor Shpilenok / Barcroft Media

.and chased the pair away from the cabin in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, Russia. Igor captured the moment the foxes fled.
Picture: Igor Shpilenok / Barcroft Media

Photographer Dan Dinu had a close encounter with a curious fox that was definitely ready for its close-up. Luckily his pal Cristian Goga was able to snap the moment. Dan was making his way to St Ana Lake in central Romania when he encountered the male fox. Dan says: The behaviour is due to the fact that it has been raised by a forest ranger, therefore it was used to people. Yet, it is not right to encourage such a behaviour, as animals must remain wild. It cannot be sure that next time, instead of looking at a camera, it will not look into a rifle.
Picture: Dan Dinu/Cristian Goga/Rex Features

Rather than adopt a dog from a rescue centre an Australian woman has opted for a rather different animal – a fox. 23-year-old Leonie Bunch adopted red fox Ally six months ago with the help of Sydney Fox Rescue. The organisation re-homes the creatures in an effort to reduce the number of wild foxes preying on native wildlife. According to Leonie he is fairly toilet-trained and he has his own backyard run and his own room.
Picture: Toby Zerna / Newspix / Rex Features

Roy Rimmer, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, won the Mammal Society Mammal Photographer of the Year competition by freezing the motion of a jumping brown rat. Wildlife photographer and competition judge Kate MacRae said: This image quite literally ‘leapt’ out at me when I first saw it. Often misunderstood and unfairly depicted, I loved the unique energy in this capture…
Picture: Roy Rimmer/The Mammal Society / Rex Features

A squirrel sticks its head inside a model of a squirrel’s head filled with nuts. The Big Head Squirrel Feeder was installed in the Secret Garden Nature Reserve in Southampton, Hampshire.
Picture: Jamie Lorriman/Solent News & Photo Agency

A penguin seems to give a cheeky grin as he strides through the snow with a spring in his step. The chinstrap penguin was snapped by German photographer Andreas Kutsch at Spigot Point, Antarctica.
Picture: ANDREAS KUTCH / CATERS NEWS

A leopard seal chases a Gentoo penguin onto the beach on Cuverville Island, Antarctica. The predatory seal struck with ferocious speed but the penguin flapped across the shoreline, with the hungry seal in hot pursuit…
Picture: Paul Souders / Barcroft Media

Seal Roar..Looser, Lol
..The leopard seal roars after failing to catch a Gentoo penguin by the shoreline off Cuverville Island, Antarctica
Picture: Paul Souders / Barcroft Media

This Gentoo penguin appears to be walking on water, leaving behind a trail of water – giving the impression he is using a jet pack…
Picture: Paul Souders / Barcroft Media

A jaguar drinks water in an enclosure at Petro Velho Farm, a refuge of the non-governmental organization NEX in Corumba de Goias, Brazil
Picture: EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images

This smiling Cow Nose Ray is part of the new exhibit at Underwater World in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Picture: Megan Slade/Newspix / Rex Features

A juvenile green sea turtle attempts to devour a live jellyfish. The greedy young turtle looks to be enjoying his bizarre meal by eating from the head of the jellyfish away from the poisonous tentacles. US photographer Jacob Maentz came across the rare sight when diving at the Balicasag Marine Sanctuary off the coast of the island of Bohol, Phillipines.
Picture: Jacob Maentz / Barcroft Media

A baby chimp shows a variety of expressions as it sits in its mother’s arms at Chimp Haven in Keithville, Louisiana. One hundred and eleven chimpanzees will be coming from a south Louisiana laboratory to Chimp Haven, the US national sanctuary for chimpanzees retired from federal research.
Picture: Gerald Herbert/AP

Smile – it’s the school photo. A marine photographer managed to capture hundreds of wide-eyed fish apparently posing for a picture. Californian photographer and conservationist Octavio Aburto had spent years photographing the school in Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico, and had been trying to capture this shot for three years.
Picture: OCTAVIO ABURTO / CATERS

A lion’s mane jellyfish swims through the white sea off the coast of Russia
Picture: Science Photo Library / Barcroft Media

Two-month-old freshwater crocodile hatchlings are seen at Chris Humfrey’s Wild Action Zoo in Macedon, Australia
Picture: Jay Town/Newspix / Rex Features