The week in wildlife - in pictures

A swan pokes its head above the grass in a field in Kamp-Lintfort, western Germany Photograph: Roland Weihrauch/AFP/Getty Images

One of eight penguin chicks released by Taronga Zoo staff at Long Reef, Sydney, makes a bid for the ocean Photograph: Daniel Munoz/Reuters

Conservation International this week revealed the stars of its two-decade programme surveying the world's most remote wildernesses – including this, the ET salamander Photograph: Jessica Deichmann/Conservation I/PA

Red tulips in full bloom during the Baisakhi festival in Srinagar, Kashmir Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters

A dead sea turtle washed onto the shore at Waveland, Mississippi. Endangered sea turtles and dolphins are still dying in high numbers in Mississippi, which continues to be impacted by tar balls and weathered oil following the Deepwater Horizon oil leak Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

A Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) meets some fish in a pond at the Changgyeong Palace in Seoul, South Korea Photograph: Jeon Heon-kyun/EPA

Holy. Moly. This is another star of Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Programme of remote areas – the Goliath bird eating spider (Theraphosa blondi). The species is the largest (by mass) spider in the world, reaching a weight of 170g and leg span of 30cm. This little beauty was photographed in Guyana, South America Photograph: Piotr Naskrecki/Conservation Int/PA

Barn swallows prepare to roost at Mount Moreland near Durban, South Africa. The swallows, which number about 800,000, are part of an estimated 3 million birds which nest in the direct flight path of air traffic landing at King Shaka International Airport Photograph: Rogan Ward/Reuters

A seven-year-old Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) named Binay displays its feathers at the Philippine Eagle Centre in Davao City, Mindanao, the Philippines' second largest island Photograph: Jason Gutierrez/AFP/Getty Images

Abandoned flowers wilt within the exclusion zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

People gather under cherry blossom trees at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo, Japan Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images

A peacock displays his vibrant plumage in Jever, Germany Photograph: Jacob Eilts/EPA