The week in wildlife

A butterfly rests on almond blossom in Srinagar, India
Photograph: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images

Scandinavian scientists have discovered that a species of birch tree has developed an extraordinary defence from attack by herbivores. From neighbouring marsh tea plants, a birch will absorb chemical compounds that ward off animals such as feeding moths, then emits them itself. These birches are in a marsh near Minsk, Belarus
Photograph: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters

An affectionate scene at Safari West wild animal preserve in Santa Rosa, California, where Jamala, left, introduces her new baby to the rest of the herd
Photograph: Emma Rose Burgess/AP

Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the Japanese beetle, which feeds on nearly 300 plants and costs the ornamental plant industry $450m damage each year, according to scientists with the Agricultural Research Service. Geranium petals paralyse the beetle for up to a day, by which time a predator has often gobbled it up. Meanwhile in the UK, the wildlife minister Huw Irranca-Davies has given the go-ahead for the release of the psyllid, an insect that will help stop the spread of Japanese knotweed, a devastating plant which costs the UK more than £150m a year to control and clear
Photograph: Stephen Ausmus/ARS

A cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) soars in the Las Garzas eco-park in Cali, Colombia. In the park's 4.7 hectares, some 74 species of tree, 109 species of bird, and 11 species of mammal can be found
Photograph: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images

A crocodile rests at a breeding centre in the Zapata Swamp biosphere reserve park, Cuba. The wetlands of Cuba represent about 4% of the island's territory and include habitats with unique and ideal vegetation for manatees, crocodiles, fish and turtles
Photograph: Desmond Boylan/Reuters

A fish lies partially entombed in a frozen lake in Berlin, Germany. The severe German winter has kept the lakes in darkness and prevented the production of oxygen, causing the fish to suffocate
Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

A female anteater (Tamandua mirim) carries her baby at Rio de Janeiro zoo, Brazil. It is the first birth of this highly endangered species at the zoo
Photograph: Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

Back to sea: Excited bird enthusiasts spotted several small flocks of rare Vanuatu petrels in a remote corner of the Pacific – the first time the species has been seen over the water since it was discovered more than 80 years ago
Photograph: P. Harrison/Seabirds Handbook Project

The incredible sight of the glass frog – whose transparent abdominal area allows you to see its internal organs. A team of American and Ecuadorian scientists working for Reptile and Amphibian Ecology International discovered a treasure trove of previously undiscovered species in a rare and dwindling ecosystem in west Ecuador
Photograph: Paul S. Hamilton/RAEI.org/Rex Features

Vicunas – a part of the camelid family alongside llamas and camels – gather between the salt flats of Uyuni and Coipasa in Bolivia
Photograph: David Mercado/Reuters

A Pacific grey whale calf peeps out of the San Ignacio lagoon, Mexico. The whales have been protected since 1947 and are at the centre of the area's whale-watching industry. Their numbers have dropped by a third from around 26,000 in the late 1990s. Scientists say that the decline was caused by melting Arctic ice impacting their food chain, which includes small fish, crustaceans, squid and other tiny organisms
Photograph: Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images

A hummingbird looks out over 50 acres of the giant tecolote ranunculus plants. During their six- to eight-week bloom period, the flowers attract thousands of visitors each year to this spot in Carlsbad, California
Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

An astonishing discovery from the island of Borneo. Botanists have found that world's largest carnivorous plant, the montane pitcher, the subject of much curiosity in this field, has an extraordinary relationship with tree shrews. The pitcher lures in the shrews with its tasty nectar – as it does to the ants and spiders which it then eats – but the shrews instead defecate into the pitcher by way of marking territory, thus returning the favour by providing vital nutrients to the plant
Photograph: Lijin Chin/Monash University

A team of British researchers has learned that gribble have a gift for digesting wood not seen in any other organism. Enzymes produced by the tiny creatures are able to break down woody cellulose and turn it into energy-rich sugars. This excites scientists investigating green fuel sources because it means gribble could hold the key to converting wood and straw into liquid biofuel
Photograph: Dr Simon Cragg and Graham Malyon/PA

A sleepy young sea otter catches a dry 40 winks on the Saw Mill Bay in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Photograph: Steven J. Kazlowski/Solent News & Photo Agency

An orang-utan chews on the bars of its enclosure at the Zoological and Botanical gardens in Hong Kong. Animal welfare campaigners are questioning whether facilities at the gardens are outdated and express concerns over the psychological wellbeing of the orang-utans. Meanwhile, studies on the animals in Borneo have found that their calls are more complex than first thought. More than merely a tool for socialising and attracting mates, the calls are nuanced with information on the identity and the context of the caller
Photograph: Paul Hilton/EPA

A golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) at the zoo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which breeds species at risk of extinction. A call has gone out from not-for-profit publisher WILDGuides for photographs of the world's rarest birds for the next instalment of their popular rare birds yearbook
Photograph: Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images