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Wild geese fly over fields in North Rhine-Westphalia on the outskirts of Cologne, Germany
Photograph: Henning Kaiser/DPA
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Two male silver pheasants rest on rocks by a waterfall in Fujian province, south-east China
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock
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Orange oaklea, a nymphalid butterfly, on a plant in Taipei zoo, Taiwan
Photograph: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images
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Red deer graze in the Highlands in Glen Etive, Scotland. These members of Britain’s largest wild animal species roam on open moorlands in summer and move to lower ground into forests and woodland for shelter during the harsh Scottish winters
Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
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A murmuration fills the sky as the sun sets in Rome. Ornithologists estimate that up to 5m starlings descend on the Italian city each winter
Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
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Flamingos wade in a salt lake on the outskirts of Larnaca. Cyprus is a popular pitstop for flamingos migrating from Africa
Photograph: Katia Christodoulou/EPA
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Monkeys cross an empty street during the Covid curfew in Ahmedabad, India, under the watchful eye of a group of police officers
Photograph: Divyakant Solanki/EPA
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A bald eagle tries to snatch a fish from a juvenile bird in Havre De Grace, Maryland, US
Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP
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Bighorn sheep in the Utah desert. The species is native to the southern regions of the US state
Photograph: Utah Department of Public Safety/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock
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Some of the 100 dead pilot whales stranded on New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands. The marine mammals beached themselves over the weekend but rescue efforts were hampered by the isolated location, about 500 miles (800km) east of South Island, according to the Department of Conservation
Photograph: New Zealand Department of Conser/AFP/Getty Images
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A plant used in traditional Chinese medicine has evolved to become less visible to humans, research shows. Scientists found that the Fritillaria delavayi, which lives on the rocky slopes of the Hengduan mountains, matches its background most closely in areas where it is heavily harvested. This suggests humans are driving the evolution of this species into new colour forms because better-camouflaged plants have a higher chance of survival. The study was carried out by the Kunming Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Exeter, UK
Photograph: NiuYang/University of Exeter
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A male belted kingfisher holds a fish in its beak as it sits on a branch in Ventura, California
Photograph: Jon Osumi/Alamy
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A maned wolf in the Cerrado region of Brazil, where it is considered near threatened. The trees, shrubs and soil of the Cerrado store the equivalent of 13.7bn tonnes of carbon dioxide – significantly more than China’s annual emissions. It is the origin of so many rivers that it is known as ‘the birthplace of waters’ and is home to 1,600 species of birds, reptiles and mammals (including jaguars, armadillos and anteaters) as well as 10,000 types of plant, many not seen anywhere else in the world
Photograph: Nando Bomfim/Greenpeace
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Egrets and dogs gather in the foreground during a fire at a landfill site in eastern Delhi. The thick smoke that has engulfed the Ghazipur facility is a further blow to the nationwide drive for clean air. The populous city has remained in the ‘very poor’ air quality category over consecutive days this month
Photograph: Pradeep Gaur/Rex/Shutterstock
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A crow grips the wing of a bat firmly in its beak in the Ukraine capital. The Reuters photographer Gleb Garanich says: ‘Capturing this shot in the beautiful morning light of Kyiv confirmed my belief that stories about the animal world need not only be found in the wild. I was on my way to cover a protest near the Ukrainian parliament and had deliberately left 90 minutes ahead of time as I like to take pictures early in the morning in the city centre’
Photograph: Gleb Garanich/Reuters
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Five wolf cubs await treatment at a wildlife facility after being spotted on a mountain in Igdir province, Turkey
Photograph: Ismail Kaplan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
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A firefly soars over an eastern long-neck turtle at the Tidbinbilla nature reserve near Canberra, Australia
Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
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The Art of Flight by Alwin Hardenbol, a researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, has been named the overall winner of the British Ecological Society’s photography competition. The panning shot of a dalmatian pelican in motion was taken on Lake Kerkini in Greece
Photograph: Alwin Hardenbol/British Ecological Society photography competition
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A seal with her pup in Blakeney Point. The National Trust’s Norfolk nature reserve has blossomed to become England’s largest grey seal colony since the first pup was spotted there in 1988, with the numbers born increasing from just 25 in 2001 to 3,399 in 2019. The increase is attributed to low levels of disturbance and mortality during the first key weeks of life as well as a lack of natural predators
Photograph: Hanne Siebers/National Trust
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A goldfinch watches two young house sparrows in Stockport. The former Guardian photographer Denis Thorpe has been taking pictures of his garden and its visitors while shielding at home during the Covid pandemic
Photograph: Denis Thorpe/The Guardian
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