The week in wildlife

A glossy ibis prepares to land on a shallow waterway at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, Florida Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP

A Spanish thoroughbred horse stands inside its stable as it waits to perform during the Sacab Andalusian Horse Show in Coín, near Malaga in southern Spain Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters

A colony of sea lions is seen at the Palomino islands, some five miles from Callao's Port on the central coast of Peru. The islands are home to up to 8,000 sea lions – one of the biggest colonies of sea lions in Peru Photograph: Enrique Castro-Mendivil /Reuters

Trees grow from the hands of a giant cement statue in the Sala Keoku sculpture park in Nong Khai, northern Thailand Photograph: Barbara Walton/EPA

This week the Wildlife Conservation Society confirms huge population of rare dolphins. Nearly 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins are alive and swimming in Bangladesh Photograph: guardian.co.uk

A crow and a kite pick up turtle eggs at the mouth of the Rushikulya River in Ganjam district, about 87 miles south of Bhubaneswar, India. Many eggs are left to perish on the beach Photograph: Biswaranjan Rout/AP

A honeybee pollinates a flower in a citrus grove at the start of spring in Moshav Adanim, Israel. Honeybee pollination is essential to the success of farm crops. Each bee can visit several thousand flowers in a single day Photograph: David Silverman/Getty Images

Deepa, a one-year-old female orang-utan, plays in a sack on Orang-Utan Island at Bukit Merah Resort in Malaysian central state of Perak, 186 miles north of Kuala Lumpur. Having started with just three orang-utans in 1999, the island's primate population has grown to 23, 12 of which were born on the island Photograph: Zainal Abd Halim/Reuters

Male Steller's eiders in breeding plumage. The US Fish and Wildlife Services has proposed rules for subsistence hunting to protect Steller's eiders, a threatened species whose breeding numbers in the United States have dropped to an estimated 500 birds Photograph: AP

An ice formation on a tree indicates the height of floodwaters, after the Red River receded in Oxbow, south of Fargo, North Dakota. A dike holding back the swollen Red river failed early on Sunday and swamped a school in Fargo Photograph: Eric Miller/REUTERS

Thai mahouts (elephant drivers) line up their elephants during the finals of the King's Cup Elephant Polo at the Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa in Chiang Rai, Thailand Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Emmi, an eight-year-old ring-tailed lemur, holds her week-old baby at the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv Photograph: Gil Cohen Magen/Reuters

A rockmover wrasse swims at the new Berlin Dragon Castle exhibit of underwater creatures at Sea Life Berlin. The temporary exhibit, which will stay for a year, shows creatures with a dragon theme Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Environmental groups, fearing a boom in solar and wind energy projects will put wildlife at risk, published online maps on 1 April 2009 through google.org. This one shows the west side of the US with proposed areas to be off-limits to renewable energy plants. The maps by NRDC and the National Audubon Society, which cover about half the United States, show prohibited sites, such as national parks, and key wildlife habitats Photograph: Ho/Reuters

Magnolia megaphylla, Yunnan, China. Magnolias are blooming in British gardens but experts at Fauna and Flora International (FFI) warn that nearly half of the world’s magnolia species are now threatened with extinction Photograph: Jackson Xu/FFI

Dolphins swim in the deep waters off the southern Sri Lankan town of Mirissa. Pods of blue, sperm and humpback whales can be easily spotted around Sri Lanka for six to eight months a year, while Bryde's whales are rarer. Out of 81 whale species, 27 can be seen in the waters around the island. Sri Lanka has begun whale watching tours to lure foreign visitors to see its natural wonders Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

Lizards for sale at the Birds Market in Riyadh. Various animals including cats, dogs, lizards and birds are sold at the market which is only open on Friday. Saudis usually buy the lizards to eat Photograph: Fahad Shadeed/Reuters

The kestrel - once Ireland's most common bird of prey - is now on the danger list, according to a new survey. The number of swifts, skylarks and mistle thrushes are also dramatically dwindling every year, said the ten-year BirdWatch Ireland research Photograph: Shay Connolly/PA

A sign directs buyers to various furs in the viewing hall during the world's largest fur auction in Copenhagen. Five million pelts, mainly Danish mink, but also wild Russian sable, Namibian Swakara and Afghan Karakul pelts are on offer at the auction Photograph: Bob Strong/Reuters

Lotta, a mixed breed dog plays in the snow in Lofer, Austria. After the official start of spring last week, winter has returned to most parts of Austria Photograph: Kerstin Joensson/AP

Cats sit in front of a pot in Vietnam's northern Hoa Binh province, outside Hanoi Photograph: Kham/Reuters

Cherry blossom on the trunk of a tree at the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. The annual Cherry Blossom Festival runs 4-12 April Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images