The week in wildlife – in pictures

The rising sun shines through a forest on a fog-covered meadow near Jacobsdorf, eastern Germany Photograph: Patrick Pleul/AP

A mountain hare (Lepus timidu) sits in the snow in Inverness-shire, Scotland Photograph: Mark Hamblin/Rex Features

Reindeer from the Cairgorm herd walk through heavy snow in Aviemore, Scotland. Reindeer were brought to Scotland in 1952 by Swedish Sami reindeer herder, Mikel Utsi. The herd has grown in numbers over the years and is currently at about 130. It grazes on 2,500 hectares of hilly ground, staying above the tree line all year round regardless of weather conditions Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

An American Robin searches for food on a frozen tree in Augusta, Maine Photograph: Andy Molloy/AP

Two penguins play in front of the trapped Russian research vessel MV Akademik Shokalskiy in Antarctica. Chinese icebreaker Xuelong, or Snow Dragon was sent to rescue the Shokalskiy, but it too got stuck in thick ice. However all 52 passengers aboard Shokalskiy were rescued by helicopter and taken to the rescue ship Aurora Australis Photograph: Zhang Jiansong/Rex Features

Seagulls chase after pieces of bread thrown in the air on a windy day on the banks of Lake Maschee in Hanover, Germany Photograph: Peter Steffen/Corbis

A rare glimpse of a megapod of spinner dolphins where two superpods meet to socialise and mate Photograph: John Downer Productions

Oriental short-clawed otters give a curious look during London Zoo's annual census, which requires keepers to check every one of more than 800 unique species, including invertebrate, bird, fish, mammal, reptile, and amphibian. The census is compulsory and required as part of the zoo's licence. The results are logged into the International Species Information System (ISIS), where the data is shared with zoos around the world and used to manage the international breeding programmes for endangered animals Photograph: Wang Lili/Corbis

Migrating red crabs in Christmas Island, Australia. Millions of red crabs began their annual migration recently from the rainforest on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to the sea coast to breed. Local government closed roads during the migration, which requires at least a week Photograph: Imago/Barcroft Media

A side view of a sperm whale swimming off the coast of Dominica in the Caribbean. Armed with seven-inch teeth and weighing more than 45 tonnes, sperm whales are one of the world's most formidable predators. But far from being a Moby Dick-style man eater, they are friendly enough to swim within touching distance of humans Photograph: Franco Banfi/Barcroft Media

Bewick’s swans touch down at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, UK, in wild weather. The changing of the seasons herald the beginning of one of nature’s greatest events – migration. An inbuilt survival instinct forces millions of birds to fly thousands of miles from their breeding grounds in the far north in search of snow-free climate and an abundance of food. These Bewick’s swans migrate to the UK from the Russian Arctic, over 2,500 miles away Photograph: Graham Hann/WWT

Doves sit on power lines in Almazán, Spain. The first specimens of the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto), one of the great colonisers of the bird world, were recorded in this Spanish province around 1990. Today, there are hundreds of them. Their impact on other species is unknown Photograph: Jorge Sanz/Corbis

A bird sits atop a camel resting in the semi-desert landscape outside the West Bank town of Jericho, the lowest place on Earth Photograph: Abed Al Hashlamoun/EPA

Busy bundle ... a swarm of Indian wild honeybees in Guwahati, Assam, India. The state government is to launch the 'chief minister's honeybee mission scheme' to boost production three-fold in the next five years Photograph: STR/EPA

A flock of migrating cranes stand in the Hula Lake ornithology and nature park in northern Israel. The Hula Valley is a stopping point for hundreds of species of birds along their migration route between the northern and southern hemispheres Photograph: Nir Elias/Reuters

A bharal (Himalayan blue sheep) runs past the road above the shrunken Dead Sea. Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian National Authority signed a landmark agreement in Washington DC to construct a pipeline to carry water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea lies between Israel and Jordan, and has considerably shrunken because of excessive industrial use, mainly by mineral-production factories Photograph: Li Rui/Corbis

Red deer grazing at Jedforest Deer Farm as heavy rain continues in the Scottish Borders, UK Photograph: Chris Strickland/Corbis

A robin perches on a holly tree at Fota wildlife park in County Cork, Ireland Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA