With the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico still unfolding, concerns over threats to wildlife have brought animals into the news quite a bit lately. From the oil spill, to preservation efforts, to zoo developments, pampered pets, harsh environments, invasive fish, a surfing alpaca and more, collected here are a handful of recent photographs of animals and our interactions with them, as companions, caretakers, observers, and stewards.
A bear cools down in the water at the zoo in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, Thursday, April 29, 2010 as Germany faced the hottest day this year so far, with temperatures up to 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Molly the Flat coated Retriever undergoes an eye test at the on site vet during the fourth and final of the annual Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Center on March 14, 2010 in Birmingham, England. During this year's four-day competition nearly 28,000 dogs and their owners will vie for a variety of accolades, ultimately seeking the coveted 'Best In Show'. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) #
Kenya Wildlife Ranger Mohamed Kamanya seen in front of a herd of elephants in the Tsavo East national park, Kenya on March 9, 2010. Beginning this weekend, the international community will debate proposals from Tanzania and Zambia to allow a one-time sale of ivory to clear out backlogs of stockpiles that often come from elephants who die naturally, or those that are killed. Kenya has seen elephant deaths from poachers shoot up seven-fold the last three years, after a similar sale was allowed in 2007. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo) #
A 3-year-old toy poodle Mizuho sits in "Dog Wash Machine," for shampooing at a pet shop named Pet World Joyful Honda in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, March 16, 2010. Inside the closed machine, a dog receives a service that includes tear-free shampoo, rinsing and blow dry in the 30-minute course. It costs 1,000 yen (about US$11). (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) #
A baby whitecoat harp seal is pictured after being washed up on the shore of Prince Edward Island in this handout photo from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, released March 25, 2010. The worst ice year on record in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, means thousands of harp seals are expected to die this year. (REUTERS/Stewart Cook/IFAW) #
Male crocodile "Rex", five meters in length and estimated to be 30-40 years old, thrashes the water while holding a chicken in his mouth during the first public feeding session in his new Kakadu Gorge enclosure at Sydney Wildlife World in Australia on March 29, 2010. Rex, a so-called 'rogue' crocodile, who was captured and placed into a crocodile farm near Darwin in the Northern Territory several years ago, was moved to Wildlife World in mid-December 2009 and will be the only croc housed in the enclosure. (GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images) #
Horses run wild near wind-damaged trees after after a tornado swept through the area on Saturday, April 24, 2010 in Holmes County, Mississippi. Gov. Haley Barbour told The Associated Press there was "utter obliteration" in parts of Yazoo County. About 15 other counties were also damaged, he said. (AP Photo/Clarion-Ledger, Chris Todd) #
A policeman looks at an elephant which was knocked down by a train at the Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. The female elephant was killed and another pregnant elephant was seriously injured by a train when they searched for food at the sanctuary. The pregnant elephant later gave birth and fled the site, leaving the baby which was rescued by the forest guards and sent to Assam State zoo for treatment. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) #
Sylar, an 8-week-old male red fox is seen among his toys at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California on Wednesday, May 5, 2010. Federal wildlife officials discovered a litter of nine kits near Paso Robles, after a trapper had killed the mother. Because the red fox is not native to California, these offspring could never be returned to the wild. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was one of several wildlife facilities adopting a kit to raise for educational purposes. (AP Photo/Nancy Chan, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) #
Picture made available on April 29, 2010 shows Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (right) and scientists examining a polar bear on the island Alexandra Land, part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Putin expressed concern for the fate of Arctic polar bears threatened by climate change. "The polar bear is under threat. Their population is currently only 25,000 individuals," Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. (ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/AFP/Getty Images) #
Volunteer Cara Bround holds a ten-day-old baby Sykes Monkey being taken care of at the Colobus Trust rescue center near Mombasa, Kenya after its' mother was electrocuted, March 23 2010. According to the Trust, the population of Sykes Monkeys have gone down from 800 three years ago to 600. (REUTERS/Joseph Okanga) #
Illinois River silver carp jump out of the water after being disturbed by sounds of watercraft in early December of 2009. The Supreme Court decided on Monday April 26, 2010 not to get involved in a dispute over how to prevent Asian carp from making their way into the Great Lakes. The justices turned down a new request from Michigan to consider ordering permanent closure of Chicago-area shipping locks to prevent the invasive fish from threatening the Great Lakes. (AP Photo/Illinois River Biological Station via the Detroit free Press, Nerissa Michaels) #
Four-year-old Garrett Mullen watches three-day-old pinto stallion named Einstein in Barnstead, New Hampshire on Sunday, April 25, 2010. The diminutive horse born in New Hampshire could lay claim to the world record for lightweight foal. The pinto stallion named Einstein weighed just 6 pounds and measured 14 inches in height when he was born Friday in Barnstead. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) #
"Manhattan" (left) and "Altesse" fight during the final of the annual "Battle of the Queens" of the Herens breed cows fight on May 9, 2010 in Aproz, Switzerland in the Alpine Canton of Valais. During the combat the cows simply push, forehead against forehead using their horns. The competition continues until the new queen has forced all the other leaders to retreat. (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images) #
Battsetseg, 45, holds a one-month-old calf, one of several young animals that are living inside the small home for protection against the extreme cold weather on March 15, 2010 in Zuunmod in Tuv province, Mongolia. The family lost 50% of their herd and many are weak from lack of feed and the continued cold. Mongolia recently experienced one of the worst winters in 30 years, with 68% of provinces affected. The government declared an emergency requiring foreign aid to alleviate the impact of the "Zud" (a multiple natural disaster) caused by bitter cold and thick snow. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #
An Emperor Tamarin monkey, native to the Amazon rainforest, experiences its new home in the living rainforest enclosure at ZSL London Zoo, in London, on March 25, 2010. 'Rainforest Life', built inside a bio-dome, is a breeding facility for free-roaming monkeys, sloths, tree anteaters and birds. It includes, real rain, living trees and tropical climates in what is hoped to be a love nest for a host of endangered animals. (BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images) #
Masai bachelor Giraffes Bo, 5, and Mac, 4, housed at the Racine, Wisconsin Zoo, engage in a necking duel on Friday, April 23, 2010. Giraffe necking is a type of sparring in which each giraffe swings its head or neck toward the other to demonstrate dominant behavior. (AP Photo/Journal Times, Scott Anderson) #
Officers from California Fish and Game secure a bear after it was hoisted from a tree by firefighters from the Oxnard Fire Department at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard, California on Tuesday, May 4, 2010. Firefighters fitted the groggy 200-pound bear with a harness before using a ladder truck to lower it to a grassy cemetery grave site at 9:10 a.m. Tuesday. Fish and Game experts bundled the bear in a tarp, and police say it will be released in Los Padres National Forest. (AP Photo/Ventura County Star, Rob Verela) #
A dog is seen through bars as it is herded to a metal container euphemistically called a "dream box," where stray dogs are asphyxiated with carbon dioxide gas, at an animal welfare center in Tokushima,Japan on March 11, 2010. In Japan a canine that ends up in the municipal pound is far more likely to be put down than to find a new home. While in some other industrialized countries the idea of "saving" a pet from a shelter is well-established, in Japan animal welfare activists say strays often fall foul of an attitude that prizes puppies and pedigrees as status symbols. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon) #
