May 2010: The month in animal photos
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If there’s one thing we love nearly as much as animals themselves, it is great animal photography. We love adorable baby animal photos, photos of pets behaving badly and shots of animals that are the best of friends. Basically, if there is a beautiful, fascinating, fun or just plain silly photo of an animal, we want to see it.
Since we suspect many of you feel the same way we do, we’ve assembled a photo essay of our favorite animal pictures taken during the recently ended month of May. It’s complete with foals, calves, pups, cubs, chicks, wild animals and domesticated ones, household companions and endangered species and even -- wait for it -- monkeys drinking from water faucets.
Above, an endangered Przewalski’s horse looks mighty displeased with its neighbor, a European bison, at a wildlife preserve near Berlin on May 3. Check out more great animal photography after the jump!
A newborn reindeer tries to stand at a zoo near Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on May 3.
A pair of ring-tailed lemurs relaxes at a wild animal park in Albany, N.Y.
A brown pelican captured off the Louisiana coast is cleaned at a triage center in Fort Jackson, La., after becoming covered in oil as a result of the Gulf oil spill on May 4.
A Przewalski’s horse and her foal stand in a field at the Hortobagy National Park in Hungary on May 4.
An animal care specialist at SeaWorld San Diego pulls a sea lion pup out from under a San Diego Police Department patrol car at a San Diego-area beach on May 5. SeaWorld plans to release the pup, believed to be about 8 months old, after rehabilitating it.
Two white lion cubs are bottle-fed by keepers at a wildlife park in western Germany on May 6.
A Eurasian eagle-owl is sprayed with an anti-mite solution after receiving a vaccine to protect it from avian flu at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore on May 7.
A dog rests at a domestic animal show in St. Gallen, Switzerland, on May 8.
A jury member judges a cat at the St. Gallen exhibition on May 8.
A participant in the inaugural Hungarian Donkey Gallop waits for competition to begin with his donkey teammate on May 8. Organizers of the event wish to establish a tradition of donkey races for the tiny village of Radpuszta.
A cow sticks out its tongue in a field near Miesback, Germany, on May 10.
Monkeys drink water from faucets on the side of a building during a hot afternoon in the northern Indian city of Jammu on May 10.
A serval, a species of wild cat native to Africa, hisses in its enclosure at a zoo in Leipzig, Germany, on May 11.
Two red ruffed lemurs, born at the Vienna Zoo on April 24, await feeding time on May 11. Red ruffed lemurs are a critically endangered species.
Young Canada geese walk near the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 12.
Dachshunds are seen in an art installation entitled ‘Dachshund U.N.’ at Australia’s Melbourne Museum on May 15. The installation was part of the New Wave Festival and featured 47 dachshunds posing as world leaders.
A moose calf walks through his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo on 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 pygmy hippopotamus explores its enclosure in Australia’s Melbourne Zoo on May 18.
Dogs wander around their houses at a large shelter facility for homeless animals in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, on May 19. The animals -- about 1,600 dogs and several hundred cats -- are available for adoption, but Reuters reports that most people in the area prefer purebred dogs rather than the mixed-breeds that occupy the volunteer-run facility.
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 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 later this month.
A ring-tailed lemur examines a camera at the North Carolina Zoological Park in Asheboro, N.C., on May 20.
A sea otter swims in the newly-unveiled otter habitat at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on May 20.
An African penguin attempts to score a goal -- well, we suspect it’s not really trying that hard -- at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium on May 20.
A surfing dog participates in the fifth annual Loews Surf Dog Competition in Imperial Beach, Calif., on May 22.
A giraffe nibbles on leaves at Kuala Lumpur’s national zoo on May 23.
A Malayan tiger takes a dip at the national zoo in Kuala Lumpur on May 23.
A gray squirrel rests his chin on a tree limb in Gates Mills, Ohio, on May 23.
People watch from a bridge as decorated cows graze near a stream in the Harz mountains of Germany on May 23. About 5,000 people came out to watch the spectacle.
Yun Zi, the San Diego Zoo’s youngest giant panda, plays with a toy in his enclosure on May 24.
A lioness relaxes at a wildlife park in Pakistan on May 24.
An edible frog sits in a pond in Mannheim, Germany, on May 24.
Lotta, a dog, and Charly, a cat, enjoy the sun on a bench while another dog, Lili, lies in the shade under the bench in Salzburg on May 24.
Egret chicks stand in their nest on an island off the coast of Louisiana on May 24.
PETA supporters Lucy Clarkson and Victoria Eisermann protest the use of real fur in the ceremonial hats worn by members of the Queen’s Guard on May 24.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy pet a goat as they visit a farm exhibition in Paris on May 24.
A roseate spoonbill passes a gull over an island off the coast of Louisiana on May 24.
A group of Greater Swiss mountain dogs are tested on their willingness to stay in a ‘down’ position for three minutes while their handlers are out of sight during the 16th annual Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America’s National Specialty show and obedience/rally trial in Springfield, Ill., on May 24.
A bison calf stands near its mother at the zoo in Chorzow, Poland, on May 25.
Tengmalm’s owl chicks sit on a tree branch in a forest on the outskirts of Minsk on May 25.
A demonstrator in a polar bear outfit talks to a police officer in San Francisco during a May 25 demonstration.
A mixed-breed dog named Ronja catches a Frisbee thrown by her owner Christina Weiss in Kassel, Germany, on May 25.
A cheetah named Rukia, left, grooms a cheetah named Chiku at the Indianapolis Zoo on May 25.
A squirrel monkey looks at its reflection in a camera lens at the Monkey Jungle park in Miami on May 25.
A Belarussian ornithologist tags a tawny owl chick in a forest about 30 miles outside of Minsk on May 26.
Penguin keeper Celine Pardo holds a young Humboldt penguin chick at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo on May 26.
Three young red river hogs stand with their parent at the Los Angeles Zoo on May 26.
Dutch Queen Beatrix greets Milo, a leader dog in training, during a celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the Royal Dutch Guide Dog Foundation on May 26.
A brown pelican covered in oil is washed at the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fort Jackson, La., on May 26.
Biologist Vilma Castillo applies medicine to a freshwater turtle at a reptile clinic in Costa Rica on May 27.
Frogs swarm across the Egnatia highway in northern Greece on May 27. The frogs’ migration from a nearby lake forced the closure of a major highway for two hours after three drivers skidded off the road while trying to dodge the frogs. None of the drivers were injured.
Italian diver Simone Arrigoni of Italy attempts to set a free-diving record while being propelled by two dolphins near Rome on May 27. Arrigoni managed to set a new record by completing 12 loops in 1 minute and 42 seconds.
Giant panda Lin Hui eats from a buffet of fruits and bamboo during a birthday celebration for her daughter, Lin Ping, at Thailand’s Chiang Mai Zoo on May 27.
Lucifer, a male Asiatic lion, chomps on a ball filled with meat at the London Zoo on May 27.
A heron walks through reeds at the London Wetland Center on May 27.
Schoolchildren show off their love of tigers during an event to raise awareness about wild tigers’ plight at the National Animal Museum in Beijing on May 29.
Gulls fly from a pier near Williamstown, Australia, on May 31.
A military dog jumps through a ring of fire during a Border Guards Day celebration near Minsk on May 29. Not pictured: The dog going down, down, down while the flames rose higher.
RELATED PHOTO ESSAYS:
The week in animal photos: May 9-15
The week in animal photos: May 16-22
-- Lindsay Barnett
Photos, from top: Przewalski’s horse and European bison: Michael Urban / AFP/Getty Images. Reindeer calf: Julian Stratenschulte / European Pressphoto Agency. Relaxing lemurs: McClatchy Tribune News Service. Oiled brown pelican: Mira Oberman / AFP/Getty Images. Przewalski’s horse and foal: Tibor Olah / European Pressphoto Agency. Rhino calf: Tammy Spratt / Associated Press. Sea lion: Jim Grant / Associated Press. White lion cubs: Mark Keppler / AFP/Getty Images. Eurasian eagle-owl: Roslan Rahman / AFP/Getty Images. Wrinkly dog: Ennio Leanza / Associated Press. Cat show: Ennio Leanza / Associated Press. Donkey: Bela Szandelszky / Associated Press. Cow: Marc Mueller / European Pressphoto Agency. Monkeys: Jaipal Singh / European Pressphoto Agency. Gannet release: Rick Silva / Associated Press. Serval: Sebastian Willnow / AFP/Getty Images. Ruffed lemurs: Daniel Zupanc / European Pressphoto Agency. Canada goslings: Matt Rourke / Associated Press. Dachshund U.N.: Lucas Dawson / Getty Images. Homeless dogs in Brazil: Bruno Domingos / Reuters. Soccer fish: Yuriko Nakao / Reuters. Ring-tailed lemur: Chuck Liddy / Associated Press. Pygmy hippopotamus: Fenton Communications / European Pressphoto Agency.Sea otter: Christina House / For The Times. Soccer penguin: Yuriko Nakao / Reuters. Surfing dog: David Maung / European Pressphoto Agency. Giraffe: Saeed Khan / AFP/Getty Images. Swimming tiger: Saeed Khan / AFP/Getty Images. Gray squirrel: Amy Sancetta / Associated Press. Cows: Peter Steffen / European Pressphoto Agency. Yun Zi the panda cub: Ken Bohn / Associated Press. Lioness: Rahat Dar / European Pressphoto Agency. Frog: Ronald Wittek / European Pressphoto Agency. Relaxing cat and dog: Kerstin Joensson / Associated Press. Egret chicks: John Moore / Getty Images. London PETA protest: Hunter Skipworth / Associated Press. The Sarkozys with goat: Philippe Wojazer / Reuters. Roseate spoonbill: John Moore / Getty Images. Greater Swiss mountain dogs: David Spencer / Associated Press. Bison mother and calf: Andrzej Grygiel / European Pressphoto Agency. Tengmalm’s owl chicks: Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters. San Francisco polar bear protester: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press. Disc dog: Uwe Zucchi / European Pressphoto Agency. Cheetahs: Matt Detrich / Associated Press. Squirrel monkey: Alan Diaz / Associated Press. Tawny Owl: Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters. Humboldt penguin chick: Greg Gilbert / Associated Press. Red river hogs: L.A. Zoo / Associated Press. Queen Beatrix and dog: Marcel Antonisse / European Pressphoto Agency. Brown pelican: Daniel Beltra / McClatchy Tribune News Service. Medicated turtle: Juan Carlos Ulate / Reuters. Frogs on Egnatia highway: Nikolas Giakoumidis / Associated Press. Simone Arrigoni and dolphins: Tony Gentile / Reuters. Lin Hui the panda: Pongmanat Tasiri / European Pressphoto Agency. Asiatic lion: Alastair Grant / Associated Press. Heron: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images. Children celebrating tigers: Andy Wong / Associated Press. Gulls: Mick Tsikas / Reuters. Dog jumping through burning ring: Vladimir Nikolsky / Reuters.