Week in wildlife: traffic-stopping reindeer, wildcats and a giraffe on the move | Animals | The Guardian

View image in fullscreenReindeer from the Cairngorms herd stop traffic on the road near Aviemore, Scotland, after snow and ice warnings came into force across the UK. The animals, found in the Cairngorm mountains in the Scottish Highlands, are Britain’s only free-ranging herd of reindeerPhotograph: Jane Barlow/PAShareView image in fullscreenA sword-billed hummingbird in the Cloud Forest, EcuadorPhotograph: Andy Rouse/SWNSShareView image in fullscreenThe return of European wildcats to South West England is feasible and is backed by 80% of people in the regionPhotograph: Tom Mason/Wildlife TrustShareView image in fullscreenA two-week-old sea otter pup was recently stranded on a beach at Morro Bay, California, US.

The Marine Mammal Center rescue team jumped into action as the sea otter was in a precarious situation without its mother. The pup, later named Caterpillar, was put in a safe container and after two hours of searching, the mother otter repeatedly surfaced near the boat, following the pup’s calls.

Caterpillar was lowered into the water and the mother swam directly to the pup. The young otter floated on its back as the mother gathered it into her arms, inspecting the fur and holding the pup closePhotograph: The Marine Mammal CenterShareView image in fullscreenThe annual invasion of red crabs on the beaches of Christmas Island, Australia.

Millions of crabs invade towns and roads as they come to the beaches to reproduce. The males dig a hole, and the females lay their eggs insidePhotograph: Sophie Ansel/ZEPPELIN/SIPA/ShutterstockShareView image in fullscreenSea wolves in Canada have learned how to loot crab traps for bait.

Researchers couldn’t work out what was tampering with the traps until they set up a remote camera. Videos show the wily sea wolves swimming underwater to retrieve the traps and bringing them ashorePhotograph: Kyle ArtelleShareView image in fullscreenA grey seal pup and its mother are seen at Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Louth, UK.

In 2024, the reserve recorded a 25% drop in seal pup numbers compared with the previous year — the largest decline since monitoring began 40 years earlier, according to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Early indications suggest numbers are recovering this season, with 942 pups born so farPhotograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty ImagesShareView image in fullscreenAdult Masai giraffes are transported through an urban centre on the back of a truck by Kenya Wildlife Services rangers.

The giraffes are being moved out of their natural habitat in the Rift Valley, which is deteriorating after having been soldPhotograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty ImagesShareView image in fullscreenA trio of young peregrine falcons born atop a 35-storey building in Melbourne’s central business district have taken flight for the first time, with the event captured on a livestream for the world to seePhotograph: Melbourne CBD FalconsShareView image in fullscreenKangaroos pause while bouncing through a paddock of wheat on the outskirts of the north-central town of Gunnedah in New South Wales, AustraliaPhotograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty ImagesShareView image in fullscreenA bottlenose dolphin nicknamed Mimmo leaps out of the water with an acrobatic flip in St Mark’s Basin, Venice, ItalyPhotograph: UGC/APShareView image in fullscreenA great egret eats a fish in the Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands in Boynton Beach, Florida, US. Great egrets are wading birds known for their long necks, sharp bills and skill in hunting fish and small aquatic animalsPhotograph: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/ShutterstockShareView image in fullscreenA herd of wild elephants near a rice paddy field in search of food in Nagaon district, Assam, IndiaPhotograph: Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto/ShutterstockShareView image in fullscreenA song thrush is seen at Karacabey Longoz Forest, which houses approximately 300 bird species, in Bursa, Turkiye.

The area is a popular stopover for migratory birds, especially during spring and autumn migration periods, and its rich vegetation and water sources offer an important habitat for various songbirdsPhotograph: Alper Tuydes/Anadolu/Getty ImagesShareView image in fullscreenA seal leaps in the air to evade Orca whales in the Saratoga passage between Camano and Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, US Photograph: Charvet Drucker/APShareView image in fullscreenA monkey searching for food along the river Brahmaputra on the outskirts of Guwahati, IndiaPhotograph: Anupam Nath/APShareView image in fullscreenA gingko-toothed beaked whale off the coast of Baja California in Mexico. Until recently, the only evidence of its existence came from a few specimens washed ashore. Now, for the first time, scientists have spotted these whales alive. The search had taken five years and researchers saw not one but two whalesPhotograph: Craig HayslipShareView image in fullscreenA puffin on the Isle of Muck Nature Reserve, off Islandmagee, Northern Ireland, where they have been recorded nesting for the first time in 25 yearsPhotograph: Ronald Surgenor/PAShareView image in fullscreenA vet examines an owl at a sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, US, after it fell into a concrete mixer.

The owl is expected to fly free again after it was painstakingly cleaned by animal sanctuary workers who described the bird as a ‘fighter’Photograph: APShareView image in fullscreenRetta, a brown bear, suffered many years of neglect and isolation in a cage no larger than a concrete closet. Retta has now joined a group of three bears and is well adjusted and settled in the group. As winter approaches, the bears are now preparing their dens for hibernationPhotograph: International Animal Rescue/FPWCShareView image in fullscreenWhite ibises gather for their nightly roost at Lake Eola Park in Orlando, Florida, US.

White ibises are highly social birds, travelling in flocks and communicating with an array of honks and calls. Their distinctive bills allow them to feed efficiently in shallow wetlandsPhotograph: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/ShutterstockShareExplore more on these topicsAnimalsThe week in wildlifeWildlifeZoologyPhotography