Week in wildlife: slimy capybaras, mating frogs and a rescued monkey

Common frogs in a pond in the Dublin Mountains, Ireland. Depending on weather conditions, the frogs emerge from hibernation in February or March and head for their freshwater breeding grounds to begin spawning

A snow monkey takes an open-air hot spring bath at the Jigokudani monkey park in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano prefecture, Japan

A herd of bison searches for food in a snow-covered field despite the -32C cold at Elk Island national park, Alberta, Canada. Home to one of the most significant bison conservation programmes, the park has safeguarded pure-bred plains and wood bison for more than a century, with its managed herds playing a vital role in repopulation efforts across North America and as far as Russia

A bird rests on a plum tree branch among blossom in Chongqing, China

A young orphaned howler is one of many being cared for by International Animal Rescue in Costa Rica until it’s ready to be released back into the wild. Thousands of howler monkeys are orphaned each year when their parents are electrocuted on uninsulated power lines

Scotland’s only wolf pack, father Tor with his six cubs, makes its debut at the Highland Wildlife Park at Kincraig, near Aviemore. Reintroducing wolves in the Scottish Highlands could lead to an expansion of native woodland that could take in and store 1m tonnes of CO2 a year, environmental researchers have suggested. A study led by researchers at the University of Leeds said reintroducing the species into the Cairngorms, south-west, north-west and central Highlands could help curb the problem of red deer eating tree saplings, which stops natural woodland regeneration

Gucci, a Nankeen kestrel, has its final health checks before being released after 14 months of veterinary and rehabilitation care in Byron Bay, Australia. Gucci, a diminutive bird of prey, was rescued on a rainy Christmas Eve in 2023 by a wildlife rescue volunteer, after being found inside the Sydney store of the luxury brand Gucci

A buff-winged starfrontlet hummingbird (Coeligena lutetiae) in Cali, Colombia

A fox climbs the rocky slopes on the banks of the Euphrates River in Adiyaman, Turkey. The region is home to historical civilisations and offers natural shelter for wildlife. The structure of the rocky cliffs creates a safe habitat for birds and other wild animals

Wild fish can tell people apart – at least when they are wearing different-coloured outfits, researchers have found. In a study with sea bream, researchers believe the wild fish used pattern or colour recognition to tell humans apart

A kestrel makes its home on the banks of the Euphrates River in Adiyaman, Turkey

Capybaras are covered in bright green slime due to cyanobacteria in the waters of the Salto Grande lake, an artificial body of water made by the hydroelectric dam on the Uruguay River, near Concordia, Entre Rios, Argentina

An aerial view of the capybaras

Two common buzzards, probably a pair, forage for food scraps on a cold day in mid-Wales

An alpine coffee moth. Experts have said the species, which is one of Scotland’s smallest, is on the verge of extinction due to loss of mountain willow habitat. Butterfly Conservation is appealing for volunteers to join a Scotland-wide search for more colonies of the Alpine coffee moth to help save it from extinction in the UK

Boto Cinza dolphins swim in Mangaratiba, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

A wild hare delights in the occasional patches of sunshine during low temperatures in Kidderminster, UK

Tundra swans, whose natural habitat is the Arctic region, flock to Lake Gala to spend the winter season in Edirne, Turkey

A fox curls up in a ball next to a clump of crocus flowers in a garden in Clapham, south London, UK