The week in animal photos: May 16-22
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The past week has been full of sometimes fascinating, sometimes funny, sometimes beautiful and quite often animal-filled photography. Because we suspect you love looking at animal photos as much as we do, we’ve compiled a photo essay of the week that was in the world of animals.
Above, a Weimaraner lays on the grass as traditional hunting-horn blowers take part in a competition near the eastern German city of Weimar on Sunday, May 16. ‘Throughout its early career, the distinctively gray Weim was propogated by nobles in the court of Weimar who sought to meld into one breed all the qualities they had found worthwhile in their forays against the then-abundant game of Germany,’ according to the American Kennel Club. Weimaraners were originally referred to simply as ‘Weimar pointers.’
You’ll see amazing photos of animals ranging from the adorable (moose calves, prairie dogs, lemurs, a giraffe calf) to the intimidating (a lion and a hippopotamus both showing off their formidable teeth) and from the lazy (a napping pig, a bevy of relaxing seals) to the athletic (fish and a penguin who play their own versions of soccer). Oh, and ‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman is in there as well. (Yes, seriously!)
Check out these photos and more after the jump!
A group of people approach seals resting on the beach at the hotly contested section of La Jolla, Calif., known as the Children’s Pool, on Monday, May 17. A barrier to prevent people from approaching the seals was removed May 16. On the evening of May 17, the San Diego City Council voted in favor of a new plan to protect the area’s seal population, Seal Watch San Diego tweeted.
Lisa, a rescued Yorkshire pig who weighs more than 700 pounds, relaxes alongside Sansa Collins, resident manager at the Applegate Valley, Ore., animal sanctuary Sanctuary One on Monday, May 17.
Pigeons sit on the barrier of a closed bridge on the flooded Wisla River in Krakow, Poland, on Tuesday, May 18.
A veterinarian carries a dog after it received an identification tattoo in Lima, Peru, on Tuesday, May 18. The animal, named Facundo, received a tattoo with his owner’s national identification number behind his ear. With pet theft a growing problem in Lima, many people are turning to the tattoos as a means of protecting their pets.
A moose calf walks through his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on Tuesday, May 18. The calf and his twin brother were born three days earlier. (See more photos of the pair in Unleashed’s May 18 installment of Your Morning Adorable.)
A lion yawns, displaying his impressive set of teeth, in his enclosure at a zoo in Hyderabad, India, on Tuesday, May 18.
A pelican crouches in water at an outdoor enclosure at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday, May 18.
Hamadryas baboons huddle together in chilly weather at the Hagenbeck Zoo on Tuesday, May 18. (See more photos of the zoo’s hamadryas baboon family and learn about the species in Unleashed’s May 19 installment of Your Morning Adorable.)
A pygmy hippopotamus explores its enclosure in Australia’s Melbourne Zoo on Tuesday, May 18.
Young prairie dogs nibble on food in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, May 18, in a photo submitted to The Times’ photo-sharing site, Your Scene, by reader tomclark.
The eye of a frog is reflected on the surface of a pond at a golf course in Roswell, N.M., on Tuesday, May 18.
Actor Taye Diggs reads excerpts from the Alpo dog food brand’s newly released ‘Real Dogs Eat Meat’ handbook in New York City on Wednesday, May 19.
A polar bear relaxes in his new enclosure at Germany’s Hannover Adventure Zoo on Wednesday, May 19.
Residents watch as a leatherback turtle is prepared for release in the village of Bolong on the Philippine island of Mindanao on Wednesday, May 19. The turtle had become trapped in a fishing net the previous day.
‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman poses in front of a sign advocating spay and neuter surgeries for pets that was unveiled at her home on Wednesday, May 19. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals paid Suleman $5,000 and offered her a month’s supply of vegan hot dogs and hamburgers in exchange for displaying the sign, which will remain posted at her La Habra home until June 9.
A caravan of camels crosses the river near Camp Masoom Ghar in Afghanistan’s Panjwai district on Wednesday, May 19.
Dogs wander around their houses at the so-called dog favela complex in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, on Wednesday, May 19. A local charity sponsors the facility, which houses about 1,600 stray dogs and a few hundred stray cats. The animals are available for adoption, but the charity’s marketing director told Reuters that most people in the area prefer purebred dogs rather than the ‘MWPs’ (‘Mutts With Pride’) that occupy the volunteer-run facility. The dogs consume about 12 tons of food per month, according to Reuters, and the charity is having trouble paying its bills. Staff hope they’ll begin receiving assistance from the Brazilian government soon.
A keeper in a zoo in Valencia, Spain, feeds a male Rothschild giraffe calf on Thursday, May 20. The calf’s mother rejected him at birth and he now receives care both from his keepers and another adult female giraffe at the zoo who acts as his ‘aunt.’
A blue tang and a flame angelfish face off near a transparent, tiny soccer ball filled with fish food inside a tank made to resemble a soccer stadium at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, Japan, on Thursday, May 20. The blue tang is meant to represent Japan’s national soccer team, which is popularly known as the Blue Samurai; the angelfish is meant to represent Denmark’s national team. Japan and Denmark will play each other in Group E of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup in June.
At left, a keeper sprays water on Torgamba, a 30-year-old Sumatran rhinoceros, at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in the Way Kambas National Park in Indonesia on Thursday, May 20. At right, a Siberian chipmunk enjoys a snack in Bangalore on Thursday, May 20. Siberian chipmunks are the only chipmunks that live outside of the North American continent.
A laughing gull attempts to fly, but is unable, on Breton Island, La., on Thursday, May 20. The gull was later rescued by wildlife experts, who removed it from the area to test it for oil contamination due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Tourists take pictures with Tomas, a water buffalo who lives in Vinales, Cuba, on Thursday, May 20. Tomas’ owner, Javier Pimentel, has given the animal extensive training and claims Tomas is the only domesticated water buffalo in Cuba.
A ring-tailed lemur examines a camera in the new Lemur Island exhibit at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, N.C., on Thursday, May 20.
A sea otter swims in the new BP Sea Otter Habitat at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on Thursday, May 20.
An endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur explores its enclosure at the zoo in Cali, Colombia, on Thursday, May 20. Only three Latin American zoos contain lemurs.
It’s soccer fever at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama. First fish got into the soccer-playing act in advance of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, and now an African penguin tries his hand wing at the sport as well on Thursday, May 20.
A chimpanzee savors a block of ice during especially hot weather at the Chester Zoo in northern England on Friday, May 21.
No ice for this hippopotamus that certainly does seem to be enjoying a spray of water during a similarly hot day at a zoo in Ahmadabad, India, on Friday, May 21.
A giraffe poses before a cloudy sky at the zoo in Warsaw, Poland, on Friday, May 21.
A hawksbill turtle receives a checkup from marine specialists Yoshihiko Kanou, right, and Dr. Ooi Meui Chen in Japan on Friday, May 21. Fifteen of the turtles, which were bred in captivity as part of a conservation program, will be fitted with satellite tracking devices and flown from Japan to Singapore for release. The tracking devices are intended to help research understand the turtles’ migratory behavior in advance of a larger-scale release of captive-bred juvenile turtles.
An eastern black rhinoceros and her offspring walk in Tanzania’s Serengeti Park on Friday, May 21, after being transported to the park from South Africa as part of a conservation effort designed to renew Tanzania’s eastern black rhino population.
Children wave at a polar bear named Arktos as he looks through the window of his pool at the Hannover Adventure Zoo in Germany on Saturday, May 22.
A surfing dog has its photo taken as it participates in the fifth annual Loews Surf Dog Competition in Imperial Beach, Calif., on Saturday, May 22. About 60 dogs participated in the event, which was a fundraiser for the the San Diego police department’s K-9 unit.
One-year-old Kylie Rich pets Hurley, a bulldog, during the surfing dog competition on Saturday, May 22.
Animal rights activists demonstrate in Mexico City to ask for the creation of legislation to protect animals on Saturday, May 22.
RELATED PHOTO ESSAYS:
The week in animal photos: May 9-15
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show: Day 2 in photos
-- Lindsay Barnett
Photos, from top: Weimaraner: Jens-Ulrich Koch / AFP/Getty Images. Seals at the Children’s Pool: Gregory Bull / Associated Press. Lisa the pig and friend: Bob Pennell / Associated Press. Pigeons: Peter Andrews / Reuters. Tattooed dog: Pilar Olivares / Reuters. Moose calf: Timur Emek / AFP/Getty Images. Lion: Mahesh Kumar / Associated Press. Pelican: Axel Heimken / Associated Press. Baboons: Axel Heimken / Associated Press. Pygmy hippopotamus: Fenton Communications / European Pressphoto Agency. Prairie dogs: tomclark / Your Scene. Frog: Mark Wilson / Associated Press. Taye Diggs reads to dogs: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for Alpo. Polar bear: Nigel Treblin / AFP/Getty Images. Leatherback turtle: AFP/Getty Images. Nadya Suleman: Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images. Camels: Nikola Solic / Reuters. Homeless dogs in Brazil: Bruno Domingos / Reuters. Giraffe calf: Kai Foersterling / European Pressphoto Agency. Soccer fish: Yuriko Nakao / Reuters. Sumatran rhinoceros: Reuters. Siberian chipmunk: Diyangshu Sarkar / AFP/Getty Images. Laughing gull: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times. Water buffalo: Franklin Reyes / Associated Press. Ring-tailed lemur: Chuck Liddy / Associated Press. Sea otter: Christina House / For The Times. Black-and-white ruffed lemur: Luis Robayo / AFP/Getty Images. Soccer penguin: Yuriko Nakao / Reuters. Chimpanzee: Phil Noble / Reuters. Hippopotamus: Ajit Solanki / Associated Press. Giraffe: Peter Andrews / Reuters. Hawksbill turtle: Stephen Morrison / European Pressphoto Agency. Eastern black rhinoceros: Tom Kirkwood / Reuters. Polar bear: Nigel Treblin / AFP/Getty Images. Surfing dog: David Maung / European Pressphoto Agency. Bulldog: David Maung / European Pressphoto Agency. Mexico City demonstration: Sáshenka Gutierrez / European Pressphoto Agency.