The week in wildlife – in pictures

A bird rests on a bush during a snowstorm in Quebec City on 15 December. Between 15 and 30cm of snow is expected to fall on the different regions of eastern Canada in one day, according to Environment Canada. Photograph: Mathieu Belanger/Reuters

A panda playing in snowy enclosure at Yunnan Wild Animal Park, Kunming city, China on 16 December. Photograph: Rex Features

Swans swimming and flying over Ibar river in Mitrovica, Kosovo, during a foggy day accompanied by crisp temperatures.
Photograph: Agron Beqiri

A picture taken on 12 December shows a Northern Hawk-Owl (Surnia ulula) sitting on a branch in Stollberg, Germany. Typically native of north Scandinavia, Kamchatka and Alaska, these birds have migrated in upper Saxony due to scarcity of food in their territories. Photograph: SEBASTIAN WILLNOW/EPA

A seal munches on a crab as animals at Sydney's Taronga Zoo receive Christmas-themed treats in their enclosures on 20 December. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

One of the 116 Royal Bengal tiger of Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Indian, seen among the bushes at Kaziranga National Park on 14 December. Kaziranga boasts the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a tiger reserve in 2006. Photograph: UB Photos/Barcroft India

Flocks of bar-headed geese (Dhritaraj in Assamese) arrive at Kaziranga National Park on 14 December in Assam, India. The bar-headed goose is one of the world's highest-flying birds, flying at a height of at least 6,000 metres above sea level. Photograph: UB Photos/Barcroft India

A deer stands on a smokey ridge in Big Sur, California, on 18 December. Firefighters battling a blaze that has destroyed 22 homes along California's scenic Big Sur coastline said they were counting on lower temperatures and more favorable wind conditions to help them suppress the flames. Photograph: Michael Fiala/Reuters

In this handout photograph released by the World Wildlife Fund on 18 December, a rare snow leopard is seen after being captured and fitted with a satellite collar to track its activities in Nepal. Photograph: Kamal Thapa/WWF/AFP/Getty Images

A train passes a dead elephant with floral offerings on its body near Deepor Beel wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, on 20 December. A female wild elephant, estimated to be five years old, died after being hit by a goods train as a herd was crossing a railway track. Photograph: Anupam Nath/AP

A close up of a southern right whale in Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. A group of whale watchers found themselves becoming the watched - when a huge whale emerged beneath their boat. Photograph: Justin Hofman/Barcroft Media

Paul Goldstein, a tour guide for Exodus, shot these impressive images last month on South Georgia, on the remote and inhospitable island in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Goldstein was able to record what he describes as "a wildlife nirvana". Photograph: Paul Goldstein/Exodus/Rex Features

Two baby crocodiles in the waters of Cuaiba river, in El Pantanal (The Marshland), a big wetland in the city of Pocone, in the border between Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, near Cuiaba, capital city of the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photograph: Marcelo Sayao/EPA

Fearnan, a golden eagle found dead in the hills above Glen Lethnot in Angus, was poisoned, tests have revealed. RSPB Scotland has condemned those responsible for the killing, which is now the subject of a police investigation. Photograph: RSPB/PA

Durrell along with a number of other conservation organisations held a “tattoo the tortoise” event at Singapore Zoo. The event was aimed at raising awareness of the plight of the ploughshare tortoise, one of the world’s most threatened tortoises and to build support against trafficking in the species. Engraving identification codes onto the animals’ shells reduces their black market value. Photograph: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus), in a cage before being taken into a protected forest area in the Armenia Mantequilla municipality, western Antioquia department, Colombia on 16 December. Photograph: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images

A red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus), is released in a protected forest area in the Armenia Mantequilla municipality, western Antioquia department, Colombia on 16 December. Photograph: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images

An adult and a juvenile Philippine scops owl perch on a tree branch at the University of the Philippines dormitories in Diliman, Quezon City, east of Manila, Philippines, on 14 December. The owls are considered near-threatened due to habitat loss. Photograph: Dennis M. Sabangan/EPA