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A rescuer carries an orangutan on his shoulders as a masked veterinarian assists nearby
Week in wildlife

The week in wildlife: a rescued orangutan, the chonkiest bear and a barn owl’s triumph

This article is more than 1 month old

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

An orangutan is carried away from an area affected by wildfires in Ketapang, Indonesia. Photograph: Victor Fidelis Sentosa/Reuters
Fri 2 Oct 2026 03.00 EDT
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Visitors watching a 3.5m shark trapped in an artificial waterway in the southeastern port city of Busan, Korean. A wayward shark has become an unlikely celebrity in South Korea, drawing massive crowds. Attempts to move the shark back out to sea have so far failed
They’re gonna need a bigger boat … residents of Busan, South Korea, gather to observe a 3.5-metre bronze whaler shark that has got trapped in an artificial waterway in the southeastern port city. The shark, nicknamed Bukang-i, has been drawing crowds there since 18 September. A first attempt to shepherd it back to sea failed, but authorities are having another go today, using a custom-made netPhotograph: Yonhap/AFP/Getty Images
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A seal crossing a road in Wellington, New Zealand. The police came to the rescue of a seal seen crossing a busy road, helping the perplexed pinniped pup back safely into the water
Traffic-stopper … a seal pup got a police escort while trying to cross a busy road in Wellington, New ZealandPhotograph: New Zealand Police/AFP/Getty Images
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Rescuers take an orang-utan out of an area affected by wildfires in Ketapang, Indonesia. The orang-utan was found seeking shelter in a tree before being rescued and treated by Yiari Indonesia
Rescuers take an orangutan out of an area affected by wildfires in Ketapang, Indonesia. The orangutan was found seeking shelter in a tree before being rescued and treated by Yiari Indonesia Photograph: Victor Fidelis Sentosa/Reuters
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A brown bear known as “Backpack,” officially named Bear 89, has won the annual Fat Bear Week competition in the Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Backpack, who earned his name as he’s regularly seen clinging to his mother’s back, won by the competition in its 13th year
A brown bear known as Backpack, officially named Bear 89, has won the annual Fat Bear Week competition in Katmai national park, Alaska. Backpack – a relatively laid-back bear who earned his name as he’s often seen clinging to his mother’s back – beat competitors such as Marshmallow, Studious and the defending champion, ChunkPhotograph: explore.org/AP
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A herd of wild mountain gazelles navigate the rugged terrain of the Baranan mountain range along the Sirwan River and Darbandikhan Lake in Iraq. The species, which adds significant ecological value to the biodiversity of Sulaymaniyah Governorate, relies on the freshwater ecosystem of Darbandikhan Lake and the surrounding riverbanks for sustenance. According to local observations, sightings of the herd fluctuate seasonally, with activity decreasing sharply during the breeding season as the gazelles retreat into high-altitude rocky crevices for protection
A herd of wild mountain gazelles navigate the rugged terrain of the Baranan mountain range in north-eastern IraqPhotograph: Sabur Rashid/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock
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A whale shark swims near Roca Redonda, a small islet north of Isabela Island in the Galapagos archipelago, Ecuador
A whale shark swims near Roca Redonda, a rocky islet in the Galapagos archipelago, Ecuador. This is the largest known species of fish (they can grow to 20 metres), and the islet is tiny – five whale sharks would span its entire length Photograph: Carlos Espinosa/AFP/Getty Images
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Bison roam at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, US. Grand Teton National Park is located just south of Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the United States
Bison roam at Grand Teton national park, near Yellowstone in Wyoming, USPhotograph: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
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A squirrel jumps on the red carpet at the National Archives ahead of the arrival of US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping, in Washington, DC, US
Power behind the throne … a squirrel jumps on the red carpet at the National Archives in Washington DC, US, before the arrival of President Trump and China’s president, Xi JinpingPhotograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters
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Seabirds perch on the carcass of a southern right whale off El Doradillo Beach near Puerto Madryn, Argentina
Seabirds perch on the carcass of a southern right whale off El Doradillo beach near Puerto Madryn, ArgentinaPhotograph: Maxi Jonas/AP
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Barn owl with its vole catch attempting to make it back to its ext in Weardale, UK. Unfortunately for the barn owl a short eared owl swooped up from behind and grabbed onto the vole until they landed in the ground. Then, a kestrel was chasing it for its next catch and stole it also. Finally, it was on way back to nest and a crow started chasing it. Eventually, the owl managed to get back to the nest and pass the catch to the young barn owl, which downed the vole in one go.
Pass the parcel … this barn owl caught a vole in Weardale, Co Durham, UK. Unfortunately, a short-eared owl then swooped up from behind and grabbed the vole. Both owls landed on the ground. Next to arrive was a kestrel, who seized the vole. The barn owl managed to get it back and was on its way back to the nest, but a crow started chasing it. Eventually, the owl managed to get home and give the vole to its chick, which downed it in one go. Photographer Jason Roach caught the whole sagaPhotograph: Jason Roach Photography/SWNS
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A firefighter rescues a reptile amid a wildfire that has burned more than 700 hectares in the Amazon region of Cacau Pirera, Brazil. Thirty-five firefighters and fifteen vehicles are taking part in the firefighting effort, using more than 150,000 liters of water
A firefighter rescues a reptile amid a wildfire that has burned more than 700 hectares in the Amazon region of Cacau Pirêra, Brazil. Thirty-five firefighters and 15 vehicles are taking part in the firefighting effort, using more than 150,000 litres of waterPhotograph: Raphael Alves/EPA
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A young fox was released somewhere in the Essex countryside by South Essex Wildlife Hospital, UK. The hospital helps hundreds of injured, orphaned or sick fox cubs get their second chance back in the wild. Lawrie Brailey, hospital Operations Manager said: “‘There’s nothing better than watching a patient return to the wild, but there’s something very special about one that you’ve raised from just a few days old”
A young fox leaps to freedom in rural Essex, UK. It was nursed by staff at South Essex Wildlife Hospital, near Stanford-le-Hope. The hospital helps hundreds of injured, orphaned or sick fox cubs get their second chance in the wild. Lawrie Brailey, operations manager said: “There’s nothing better than watching a patient return to the wild, but there’s something very special about one that you’ve raised from just a few days old”Photograph: Lawrie Brailey/SWNS
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Head community warden, Sim Khmao, releases a Siamese crocodile at Chhay Reap, Cambodia. In the 1990s, conservationists in Cambodia feared the Siamese crocodile had disappeared for good. Indigenous Chorng communities have played a crucial role and a 315-hectare (778-acre) wetland in Pursat province at the northern end of the Cardamom mountains has been formally declared a genetic conservation area to protect the habitat of one of the world’s last wild populations of Siamese crocodiles
Head community warden Sim Khmao releases a Siamese crocodile at Chhay Reap, Cambodia. In the 1990s, conservationists feared the Siamese crocodile had disappeared for good, but Indigenous people helped to find the last ones living in the wild. Now the crocodiles have a protected area in which to breed and thrivePhotograph: Jeremy Holden/Fauna & Flora International
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Bandit and Misty the bald eagle couple. A bird couple were spotted keeping an eagle-eyed watch on their Arizona surroundings. Wildlife photographer Mark Koster spotted the bald eagle pair, named by locals as Bandit and Misty, perched in a tree in Scottsdale, US. He said: “I spent three hours with our Scottsdale bald eagle couple. It’s the time of year they start playing around”.
Bandit and Misty, a bald eagle couple, have captured the hearts of birdwatchers in Scottsdale, Arizona, US. Wildlife photographer Mark Koster took this photo of the pair side by side in a tree. He said: “I spent three hours with our Scottsdale bald eagle couple. It’s the time of year they start playing around”Photograph: Mark Koster/SWNS
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A herd of female pronghorn stays close together at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, US. The species is the fastest land mammal in North America, able to run at roughly 55 mph. The park’s pronghorn make one of the longest land migrations in the continental United States, moving between their summer range in Grand Teton and winter grounds to the south each spring and fall
A herd of female pronghorn stay close together at Grand Teton national park in Wyoming, US. The pronghorn looks like an antelope, but in genetic terms its closest relatives are the giraffe and the okapiPhotograph: Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
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An Arctic tern chick on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK. Key tern colonies are showing signs of recovery after being hit by years of bird flu, flooding and increasingly unpredictable weather, the National Trust has said
An Arctic tern chick on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK. Key tern colonies are showing signs of recovery after being hit by years of bird flu, flooding and increasingly unpredictable weather, the National Trust has saidPhotograph: Douglas Holden/National Trust Images/PA
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A swarm of bees makes a hive along the foreshore of Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia
The hot seat … bees congregate on a bench along the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, AustraliaPhotograph: Jeremy Piper/Reuters
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Stags fight in a forest of the Taunus region near Frankfurt as the rutting season has begun, in Germany
Stags fight in a forest near Frankfurt, Germany, during the rutting seasonPhotograph: Michael Probst/AP
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A great egret at the fishing cove of Veracruz, about 20km from Panama City, Panama. The presence of these birds in Panama gave rise to the name of the presidential residence, Palacio de las Garzas
A great egret at the fishing cove of Veracruz, about 20km from Panama City, Panama. The presence of these birds in the country gave rise to the name of the presidential residence, Palacio de las GarzasPhotograph: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images
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