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In Pictures: Highlights of 2022 in the animal kingdom

Highlights of 2022 in the animal kingdom.

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Sheep in Christmas jumpers

As the UK adjusted to a “new normal” with Covid, celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and then mourned her death months later, the country’s animals, birds and wildlife amused and moved us. Here are some of the highlights of the past 12 months.

JANUARY

Sumatran Tigers at Edinburgh zoo
Luca, one of Edinburgh Zoo’s critically endangered Sumatran tigers is given an enrichment box from the city’s Chinese New Year Festival (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Chessington World of Adventures Resort annual animal stocktake
Guinea pigs are weighed during the annual animal health check at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in Surrey (Matt Alexander/PA)

FEBRUARY

PDSA Dickin Medal for valour
Retired RAF Police sniffer dog Hertz was awarded the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals’ Dickin Medal for finding more than 100 items which posed a threat to the lives of service personnel and civilians in Afghanistan (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
Wildlife in Clydach Vale
A robin in a tree near Clydach Vale, near Tonypandy, in Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

MARCH

Highland Wildlife Park polar bear
Polar bear cub Brodie explores his enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in the Highlands with his mother Victoria (Paul Campbell/PA)
Crufts Dog Show – Day Four
Gundog winner Baxer, a flat-coated retriever, took the Best In Show title at Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham (Joe Giddens/PA)

APRIL

Wild Place Project zebra birth – Bristol
A zebra foal was born at the Wild Place Project in Bristol to 12-year-old mother Florence (Ben Birchall/PA)
Easter 2022
Red ruffed lemurs at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling, enjoy a special Easter treat prepared by their keepers (Jane Barlow/PA)

MAY

Births at the National Trust’s Wicken Fen reserve
Highland cow Apple with her calf Malin at the National Trust’s Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, where their grazing will help create habitats for other species (Joe Giddens/PA)
Lioness checkup at Yorkshire Wildlife Park
Fifteen-year-old lioness Julie is given a health check at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster (Danny Lawson/PA)

JUNE

Farne Islands puffin census
National Trust staff undertook the annual puffin census on the Farne Islands in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA)

JULY

UK Dog Surfing Championships
Marina White and her pet Coco took part in the Dog Masters 2022 UK Dog Surfing Championships at Branksome Dene Chine beach in Poole, Dorset (Andrew Matthews/PA)

AUGUST

ZSL London Zoo annual weigh-in
Humboldt penguins prepare to take part in the annual weigh-in at ZSL London Zoo, where more 17,000 animals had their height and weight recorded (Lauren Hurley/PA)

SEPTEMBER

Elephant calf at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
Whipsnade’s baby Asian elephant Nang Phaya was named the Thai word for ‘Queen’ in honour of the zoo’s patron, Queen Elizabeth II (Joe Giddens/PA)
New Forest Pannage
Why did the pigs cross the road? Domestic pigs cross a road in Ibsley, Hampshire, during Pannage, where they are allowed to wander in the New Forest during a set time in autumn to feast on fallen acorns (Andrew Matthews/PA)

OCTOBER

Grey seal pups
A newborn grey seal during pupping season at Horsey in Norfolk (Joe Giddens/PA)
Halloween 2022
A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol (Ben Birchall/PA)

NOVEMBER

Rhino is weighed
Morag the Southern white rhino calf in her yard at Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, near Stirling, with mother Dot (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Swans at Slimbridge Wetland Centre
Bewick’s swans arrive at Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire after a 2,175-mile migration flight across Europe from nesting spots in Siberia (Ben Birchall/PA)

DECEMBER

Hunting petition
Stanley the golden eagle at the Scottish Parliament after a petition called for an amendment to the Animals and Wildlife Act 2020 to allow mountain hares to be hunted for falconry purposes (Andrew Milligan/PA)
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