Week in wildlife

An octopus (Octopus vulgaris) in Basel zoo, Switzerland Photograph: Georgios Kefalas/EPA

Detectives fear that almost 300 rare and 'irreplaceable' tropical birds stolen from the Natural History Museum's ornithological collection could be ripped to shreds for use as fishing lures, dress adornments and costume jewellery Photograph: Natural History Museum/PA

A flower from the Emmenopterys henryi tree in bloom at an arboretum in the Belgian town of Kalmthout, near Antwerp. The tree, a Chinese member of the coffee plant family, was first planted in Europe in 1907. Before this week it had bloomed only four times in Europe: in Italy (1971), in Britain (1987) and at the Kalmthout arboretum in 1987 and 2006 Photograph: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images

Smith's litter frog (Leptobrachium smithi), identified in 1999, one of five new frog discoveries in the Indian state of Assam, measures only a few centimetres. Smith's litter frog was reportedly discovered in the Mayeng Hill Reserve Forest and Garbhanga Reserve Forest, Kamru District, Assam Photograph: WWF Nepal/Milivoje Krvavac

A green woodpecker (Picus viridis) on a tree in Slovenia Photograph: Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters

A Hawaiian monk seal rests on the beach as surfers catch waves at Sandy Beach near Honolulu, Hawaii. The surf was generated by tropical storm Felicia Photograph: Hugh Gentry/Reuters

A couple of roseate spoonbills feed their young at the Aviafauna aviary in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. Four couples in the aviary recently gave birth to eight chicks Photograph: Gerald Van Daalen/AFP/Getty Images

A herd of llamas and alpacas grazing at the foot of the Payachata peaks in the Sajama national park, in Sajama, Bolivia. In this remote region, where the production for export of llama, alpaca and vicuna wool are the foundation of the economy, the global financial crisis has hit hard Photograph: Aizar Raldes/AFP/Getty Images

Two-week-old Ruffles, the red ruffed lemur, investigates a pear at Lemur Land in Blair Drummond safari park in Scotland. It is the first of the endangered species to be born at the park Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Two deer enjoy the sunny weather in Richmond Park, London Photograph: Matthew Baker/PA

A man sorts through a stack of fresh pomfret in Karachi harbour. Karachi's official fishing season starts in August when boat owners are issued port clearance certificates to go on their fishing trips Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Garra rufa obtusas, also known as 'doctor fish', swim around the face of a man as he relaxes in a hot spa pool in Kangal, Turkey. The treatment is believed to heal psoriasis, a chronic skin disease which affects the joints and skins. The fish nibble away diseased skin Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters

One of 14 rare sea eagle chicks leaves its enclosure as they are reintroduced to eastern Scotland. The sea eagle chicks, collected from nests in Norway, will be released at the Tay estuary in Fife so they can establish colonies there Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

A female hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) and her baby in the ape house of the Hellabrunn zoo, Munich, Germany. The natural habitat for the species can be found in Africa, Saudi Arabia and Yemen Photograph: ANDREAS GEBERT/EPA

A pond skater, (Gerris lacustris) walks on water using surface tension at Kew gardens Photograph: Heather Angel/www.naturalvisions.co.uk

A great blue heron sits among lily pads as it fishes in a pond in east Montpelier Photograph: Toby Talbot/AP

Experts at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in the UK and Parken zoo in Sweden have bred tadpoles from mountain chicken frogs plucked from the Caribbean island of Montserrat Photograph: Durell Wildlife Conservation Trust