The week in wildlife

week in wildlife: A bee hovers next to a blossoming cherry tree in Taipei

A bee prepares for landing on a blossoming cherry tree in Taipei. Cherry blossoms in Taiwan have bloomed earlier than normal, which local scientists put down to global warming
Photograph: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images

The British Society of Underwater Photography's annual DIVER Print competition deadline is approaching (22 February). In it, the Wildlife Trusts will judge entries into the British and Irish category with a Living Seas theme. Here is the runner-up from last year's competition by Cathy Lewis, of a painted goby, a wee thing of just 6cm in length
Photograph: Cathy Lewis/Wildlife Trust

week in wildlife: A white stork stands at the river Havel in Havelberg, northeastern Germany

A white stork stands at the river Havel in north-east Germany with those incredible blades ominously half open
Photograph: Jens Schlueter/AFP/Getty Images

week in wildlife: Deer run on a snow covered meadow near Rehren, northern Germany

Deer gambol through a snow covered meadow near Rehren, north Germany
Photograph: Focke Strangmann/AP

week in wildlife : a mountain-dwelling American pika

The American pika – a small mountain-dwelling mammal that is made all the cuter by the fact it cannot tolerate the heat. An announcement is expected today on whether the pika becomes the first animal in the US to get federal protection because of climate change
Photograph: USGS/AP

week in wildlife: Juvenile (L) and adult (R) Oreophryne ezra frogs

Juvenile (left) and adult Oreophryne ezra frogs – an extraordinary new species discovered in Papua New Guinea that dramatically changes colour as it matures
Photograph: Fred Kraus

week in wildlife: A rare Amazon kingfisher

This is believed to be the rare Amazon kingfisher, a bird never previously reported in the US, sitting on a branch along the banks of Zacate Creek in Texas. Many photographers staked out and snapped this unruffled fellow, but the American Birding Association must confirm its sighting before the it can be considered official
Photograph: Cuate Santos/AP

week in wildlife: Prairie Dogs the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge in Denver

The vanishing prairie dog has been found to have perhaps an even more complex language than dolphins, as they use different "words" that correspond to different predators. This particular pair, ever vigilant, are peering out of their hole at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge in Denver
Photograph: Ed Andrieski/AP

week in wildlife: Three wolves play in the snow in Worms, Germany

Three wolves play in the snow at the zoo in Worms, west Germany
Photograph: Torsten Silz/AFP/Getty Images

week in wildlife: Two birds fight for bird food in a net, on in Tamins, Switzerland

A siskin, top, and a great tit vie for for food in Tamins, Switzerland. Talking of tits and siskins, our Big Garden Birdwatch is open for submissions until February 8. Get involved
Photograph: Jakob Menolfi/EPA

A group of sea otters milling about in Morro Bay, California. The endangered sea otters and fishermen have been competing for shellfish in the waters, leading to remarkable bureaucratic interventions such as drawing a line in the ocean separating the two, creating a colony for the creatures on a distant island and even marking out a "no-otter zone"
Photograph: Reed Saxon/AP

week in wildlife: The Lake District's Stickle Tarn is Frozen

The frozen Stickle Tarn lake in the Lake District, overlooked by Pavey Ark. The area has been popular with mountaineers and ice climbers due to the recent very cold weather, which has created many frozen waterfalls
Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

week in wildlife: A shetland pony gallops through the snow in Breckerfeld, western Germany

A Shetland pony looking surprisingly intimidating as it gallops through the snow in Breckerfeld, west Germany
Photograph: Sascha Schuermann/AFP/Getty Images