In Pictures: Camel calves and Christmas canines among 2024’s animal highlights

2024 marked many new animal arrivals, from newborn babies to rescues from overseas.

Yuna, a lioness found abandoned in Ukraine, will be moved to her new home at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent (The Big Cat Sanctuary/PA)

If there is one thing we can depend on to lighten our spirits, it’s the animal kingdom.

As war raged in Ukraine and the Middle East and elections across the globe dominated headlines, we could depend on our furry friends to spread some hope and joy this year.

Here are some of our favourite animal highlights for 2024:

January

A woman, in a green fleece and blue latex gloves holding a clipboard, counts four penguins in front of her. A sign to the side says 'Line up here to be counted' — Tigers, turtles and penguins lined up as animals were counted in London Zoo’s annual stock take, which takes place at the beginning of every year (Aaron Chown/PA)

A black bear resting its front paws on a tree trunk — Yampil the Asiatic black bear was one of 200 abandoned animals to be rescued from a village in Ukraine and was rehomed at Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder, West Lothian (Natuurhulpcentrum/PA)

February

A black Francois' langur - a type of monkey with long fur - holds a lettuce. An orage baby Francois' langur pokes its head out from its lap. — Jinfo, a bright orange Francois’ langur was born at Whipsnade Zoo. Jinfo, who was named after the Chinese mountain where wild Francois’ langurs live, was described as a ‘ray of sunshine’ by keepers and as a ‘sign of hope’ for the endangered species (Whipsnade Zoo/PA)

March

A baby rhino walks towards the camera, its mother is visible in the background. They are in an enclosed building and the floor is covered in straw. — Whipsnade Zoo welcomed another new arrival. Benja, a southern white rhino, was born in March and will one day become a vital part of a programme to help save his species. The 100kg calf was said to be a big fan of the great outdoors, striding boldly (if a bit wobbly) out of his cosy den at six weeks old (Anthony Devlin/Whipsnade Zoo/PA)

April

A black poodle with sand on its nose — Cheeky poodle Jock was rescued, safe and well, from beneath a house where he had become stuck (Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service/PA)

May

A baby camel, cream in colour, stands next to its mother. — Sally, the domestic Bactrian camel, became the newest member of Whipsnade’s caravan; the first camel calf born at the zoo in eight years (Whipsnade Zoo/PA)

A boxer puppy on a pink lead tries to catch bubbles — Goodwood played host to hundreds of good boys and girls at its annual Goodwoof event. The celebration had activities for all kinds of dogs and their owners (Ben Whitley Media Assignments/PA)

June

Six Dachshund dogs sit on a table. It is covered with an orange table cloth that features graphics of dogs. Each dachshund is in front of a bone or a dog bowl and wears a different coloured bow tie. — Figgy, Whompy, Lieutenant Maveryck, Lord Dachsington, Beetle and Dotty, all dachshunds, gathered at Goodwood to celebrate National Dachshund Day (Jas Lehal Media Assignments/PA)

July

Ryan Reynolds in a green shirt and beige trousers and Hugh Jackmand in a blue shirt and jeans hold Peggy, a pug dressed in a deadpool costume. Behind them are posters for Deadpool & Wolverine and the London cityscape. — Peggy the pug captured the hearts of Hollywood and movie fans across the world after debuting as Dogpool, the canine companion of Marvel anti-hero Deadpool in Deadpool and Wolverine alongside Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (Ian West/PA)

A composite image shows two dogs - a black and white French bulldog in a red bow tie and a black and white spaniel with specks of ginger in a red rosette. The bulldog is standing in front of a sign that says 'polling station' — Dogs flocked to polling stations wearing bows, rosettes and colourful leads as the public went to vote in the 2024 General Election (Helen Montague/Mike Birtwistle/PA)

August

The King, in a beige jacket and tartan kilt, pats the head of a brown pony — The King made friends with a Shetland pony at a ceremony marking his official arrival at Balmoral. Charles met Corporal Cruachan IV, the mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, as he took up residence for the summer (Jane Barlow/PA)

September

Black-and-white cat on a blue pillow — Marley, a seven-year-old cat, was named Cats Protection’s National Cat of the Year 2024. The black-and-white moggy has been described as having the ‘gift of empathy’ and lives at a safe house for women who have been enslaved, exploited and trafficked. Volunteers said that often, Marley placing a gentle paw on guests’ legs is the first kindness they’ve experienced in years (Ciaran McCrickard/PA)

October

A meerkat stands in the sand in front of a pumpkin that has been carved to look like a tree — Halloween was in full swing at Drummond Safari Park where meerkats, tigers and monkeys embraced the Halloween spirit with special themed enrichment sessions and fun, carved pumpkins (Andrew Milligan/PA)

November

A brown bear looks off camera. Its forehead and part of its ear have been completely shaved of fur. — Six weeks after two-year-old brown bear Boki underwent pioneering, life-saving brain surgery, experts say he is making a ‘very encouraging’ recovery (Gareth Fuller/PA)

December

A beige Corgi points its front paw as it looks at the camera. It is wearing a red sequined Christmas outfit and is surrounded by dog walkers. — Starting at Buckingham Palace, a pack of festive Corgis and their owners took part in the annual Corgi Christmas parade through London. The pups and their owners didn’t let the rain dampen spirits as they donned Christmas jumpers and festive-themed costumes to trek through Hyde Park to the Albert memorial (Yui Mok/PA)