Week in wildlife – in pictures: a giant hamster, a mustachioed deer and a zebra on the run

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

Main image: A field hamster looks out of its burrow Photograph: Oliver Berg/dpa

  • Snooze you lose ... A black kite (left) makes a swift getaway with the fish it has just stolen from the brahminy kite (right) who caught it, in Vetnai, eastern India
    A brahminy kite catches a fish from the water before having it stolen by a black kite in mid air in Vetnai, Odisha, India

  • One of 150 harvest mice reintroduced this week to Perivale Wood local nature reserve in west London, UK, after a 45-year absence. Local children helped with the release of the mice: “They were very fluffy and, well, jumpy,” said one young volunteer
    Over 150 harvest mice are reintroduced to Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve in West London, UK, after a 45-year absence. Harvest mice became locally extinct in Ealing over four decades ago, with the last recorded sighting at Perivale Wood in 1979. More than 1650 harvest mice have now been released across sites in Ealing with Perivale Wood becoming the fifth release site

  • A peacock fans out its tail in a splash of colours at Qingxiu Mountain Park in Nanning, southern China
    A peacock fans out its tail in a splash of colors at Qingxiu Mountain Park in Nanning, China

  • A roebuck deer, apparently wearing a Poirot moustache, explores a rapeseed field in Brandenburg, Germany
    A roebuck pokes his head above crops in a rapeseed field in the Oderbruch in the east of Brandenburg in the early morning, Germany

  • Call the black-and-whites! ... Drivers in Washington state, US, were startled to see four zebras trotting along the highway near the town of North Bend. Three of the animals, which had escaped from a trailer taking them to a petting zoo, were recaptured with the help of rodeo workers, but one remains at large and has become something of a folk hero. “It’s like the local Bigfoot now,” said one North Bend resident
    Three zebras were successfully recaptured by state police and rodeo professionals after wandering on to a major interstate in Washington state, US. Rodeo workers help Washington police round up the runaway the runaway zebras who escaped from their trailer while being transported to Montana

  • A swan splashes down to enjoy the warm glow of early morning light in Kidderminster, UK
    A swan crashes onto a pool to enjoy the warm glow of early morning light in Kidderminster, UK

  • Wild horses by a hiking trail in Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota, US. In 2022 the National Park Service proposed removing the horses, but met with local opposition, and now say the 200 or so animals will be allowed to remain
    Wild horses stand in a group along a hiking trail in Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora, North Dakota. Senator John Hoeven has said he has secured a commitment from the National Park Service to keep the roughly 200 horses that roam the park’s South Unit. In 2022, the Park Service began a process that included proposals for removing the horses, which park visitors adore

  • An iguana blends into the scenery at the Simón Bolívar National Zoological Park and Botanical Garden in San José, Costa Rica
    An Iguana is seen at the Simon Bolivar National Zoological Park and Botanical Garden in San Jose, Costa Rica. A group of specialists monitor and check several species at the Simon Bolivar Zoological Park to find out if climate change and climatic phenomena are changing the habitat of birds and the forest

  • Hippos stuck in a dried-up channel in the Okavango delta, Botswana. Southern Africa is afflicted by drought this season: Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell, which started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector
    Hippos stuck in a dried up channel near the Nxaraga village in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. A drought across southern Africa has been driven mostly by the El Nino weather pattern and . Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi have declared a national disaster over the severe dry spell that started in January and has devastated the agricultural sector, decimating crops and pastures

  • Flamingos in Ankara, Turkey. The birds herald the arrival of spring as they migrate there for their annual breeding season
    Flamingos in Ankara, Turkey. The birds herald the arrival of spring as they arriver for their annual breeding season. The birds spend the summer months in the wetlands before heading to warmer countries come autumn

  • A rare blue rock-thrush on the beach in Oregon, US. The bird, which is native to east Asia, has only once been spotted in this region, in 1997, and even that is disputed, making this an exceptional sighting. This picture was taken by a local musician who – much to the annoyance of avid birders – has little interest in avian life; he just thought it was cute
    A rare blue rock thrush on the beach in Oregon, US. A photographer unknowingly took a photo of the bird hopping around which have turned out to be first official images in North America of the rare blue rock-thrush

  • Ducks shepherd their ducklings at Kugulu Park, Ankara, Turkey
    Ducks and ducklings swim in the water at Kugulu Park in Ankara, Turkey

  • A brant gosling peeks out from the foliage at Britten’s Pond, Guildford, UK on a spring morning
    A Brent goslings peaks out from the foliage at Brittens Pond in Worpleson, near Guildford, in Surrey, UK on a spring morning

  • A field hamster peeks out of its burrow in Euskirchen, Germany. About a dozen captive-bred hamsters have been released into the wild there in the hope that this will prevent the species’ extinction. They are much bigger than domestic pet hamsters – even longer in the body than a guinea pig, although not as rotund
    A field hamster peaks out of its burrow in a field in Euskirchen, Germany. Around a dozen captive-bred hamsters have been released into the wild in the hope that this will prevent the extinction of the increasingly threatened species

  • A brood XIX cicada crawls up a tree in North Carolina, US. These cicadas have a 13-year life cycle, so this one has come from an egg laid by its mother in in 2011. Brood XIX’s emergence this spring coincides with the arrival of another brood that is on a 17-year cycle; entomologists say this may result in an influx of more than 1tn cicadas across 16 states
    A brood XIX cicada crawls up a tree on the campus of the University of North Carolina, US. Brood XIX, known as the Great Southern Brood, are present along the east coast from Maryland to Georgia and in the Midwest from Iowa to Oklahoma

  • A bumblebee perches on a lilac near Eymir Lake, Ankara, Turkey
    A bumblebee perches on a lilac during spring time near Eymir Lake in Golbasi district of Ankara, Turkey

  • An orphaned two-year-old female orca calf trapped for weeks in a remote lagoon in western Canada has been freed. The orca was last seen travelling towards open water, putting it one step closer to reuniting with its family group
    An orphaned two-year-old female orca calf trapped for weeks in a remote lagoon in western Canada has been freed. The orca was last seen travelling towards open waters putting it one step closer to reuniting with its family

  • A ground squirrel deep in thought in Konya, Turkey
    A spermophilus is seen on a pasture area during the spring season in Konya, Turkiye on April 30, 2024. Spermophilus, also known as ground squirrels, are one of the most common rodent species in the Anatolian steppes and prefer pastures as they cannot survive in wooded areas

  • A lion strolls around at Amboseli National Park in Kenya, which sits at the foot of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro
    A lion strolls around at Amboseli National Park in Kajiado County, Kenya. Amboseli National Park is located at the border between Kenya and Tanzania and sits at the foot of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro. The park boasts beautiful grassland scenery and is home to a diverse array of wildlife including elephants, lions, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, and various bird species

  • A harlequin ladybird crawls along a leaf in the rain in Emmer Green, Berkshire, UK
    A harlequin ladybird crawls along a leaf in the rain in Emmer Green, Berkshire, UK
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