The week in wildlife - in pictures

A young boar stands next to its mother at a deer park in Klaistow, eastern Germany. The piglets loose their characteristic striped coat after approximately three to four months and it is replaced with a brown coat Photograph: Patrick Pleul/AFP/Getty Images

A two- to three-metre tall orange-coloured, black coral trees growing near Viosca Knoll in the Gulf of Mexico, which are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. For the first time, scientists have been able to validate the age of deep-sea black corals in the Gulf of Mexico. They found the Gulf is home to 2,000 year-old deep-sea black corals, many of which are only a few feet tall Photograph: USGS/AP

A white stork flies over the snow covered marsh Elnya, one of the biggest in central Europe Photograph: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters

Cherry tree blossoms on the trunk of a tree on a chilly day along the Tidal Basin in Washington, USA Photograph: Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

MotMot, a major satellite navigation company named after a Neotropical bird family, has been working closely with BirdLife International after their research showed that both men and women respond more favourably to SatNav directions voiced by talking birds such as parrots Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters

A female osprey carries a tree branch to her nest at loch of the Lowes wildlife reserve, Perthshire, Scotland. She is believed to be the oldest breeding female ever recorded in the UK, having returned, after a 3,000 mile migration from West Africa, for the 21st year Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters

A view of tranquil Llyn Dinas in Snowdonia national park in Bethania, Wales. The National Trust is launching a £1m appeal to buy the lake and adjoining farm for the nation Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A coal tit feeding in Bangor, north Wales. Small garden birds which were hit by the long, harsh winter a year ago appear to have bounced back this year, the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch revealed Photograph: David Jones/PA

Scientists are conducting the first ever genetic survey of the UK's only venomous snake to find out if decreasing numbers caused by urbanisation has led to inbreeding Photograph: Beth Rose/ZSL

Africa’s rhinos face worst poaching crisis in decades: well-equipped, sophisticated organised crime syndicates have killed more than 800 African rhinos in the past three years – just for their horns. With the most serious poaching upsurge in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, Africa’s top rhino experts recently met in South Africa to assess the status of rhinos across the continent and to identify strategies to combat the poaching crisis Photograph: Lucky Mavrandonis/Black Rhino Monitoring Project/IUCN

Insect-eating Brazilian free-tailed bats in a Texas evening sky. Insect-eating bats provide a pest-control service to agriculture and natural ecosystems Photograph: Paul Cryan/USGS

India's tiger numbers increase for first time in a decade, says census. The Worth More Alive campaign is now in its second year, and aims to raise awareness and much-needed funds for the Bengal tiger Photograph: Paul Goldstein/Exodus

An Indonesian customs officer shows a python snake, part of a haul discovered at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang outside Jakarta. Indonesian airport officials said they had foiled an attempt by two Kuwaitis to smuggle 40 pythons in their luggage Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Flooded rivers systems are seen from the air in Windorah, Australia. Queensland recently suffered a series of extreme floods, affecting more than 200,000 people across more than 70 towns. The state is recovering and after the flooding, many areas of outback Queensland are now thriving with the resulting effect on wildlife and flora being described as once-in-a-generation Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

An orangutan at the Ouwehands zoo in the Netherlands Photograph: Koen Van Weel/AFP/Getty Images