A spectacular showcase of animal pictures from 2025

This mouse appears to be trying to revive its unconscious cagemate by tugging on its tongue to clear its airway. The researchers found that when they were shown an anesthetized mouse, some mice act as tiny first aiders and pawing, grooming and biting an unresponsive mouse, suggesting that nurturing behavior is more common in the animal kingdom than we thought.

Male Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) rolls over onto his back and releases a stream of urine into the air. This strange behavior seems to send signals to other dolphins. perhaps analogous to the way land mammals use scent marking: other males appear to search for urine as it falls back into the water.

To the left of this branch sits a magnificent wren (Malurus blue) trying to fight off the cuckoo. Scientists have discovered that More than 20 species of birds use a similar “whining” alarm call. warn other birds about nearby cuckoos, which, to avoid parental duties, secretly lay eggs in the nests of other birds.

Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are depicted with sheets of lined paper rolled into a long chain. Each ant uses its jaws to hold the ant's abdomen in front. This method allows them to roll leaves to build nests. Researchers have found that individual ants can pull nearly 60 times their own weight, but in a team of 15 they can move up to 100 times their body weight.

Live colossal squid (Mesonychotheuthis hamiltonii) was first captured on film. But while the molluscs are thought to grow up to 7 meters in length, the squid caught on camera was just a baby, measuring 30 centimeters long. The precious image was taken on a boat from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, an American non-profit organization that was broadcasting live footage from the depths of the Southern Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands.

This octopus is tricked by an illusion into thinking that an artificial hand made of white gel is actually his. We already knew that people could be tricked into thinking that a fake hand was their real one, but scientists came up with amazing discovery: we share this quirk with octopuses.