The week in wildlife - in pictures

An egret stands among anemone flowers in Ben-Shemen forest, Israel Photograph: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Black swans are native to Australia. A number of the water birds have escaped from captivity in the UK and there are now estimated to be 500 in the wild, though the breeding populations are thought not to be self-sustaining Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/AFP/Getty Images A grey whale surfaces at the Ojo de Liebre lagoon in Guerrero Negro, Mexico. The coastal lagoon is located in the middle of the Baja California peninsula and is one of three primary breeding and calving grounds for the grey whale. Throughout February, the first to leave are males and females without new calves. Pregnant females and nursing mothers with their newborns are the last to depart, leaving only when their calves are ready Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AP Ponies groom each other on Bodmin Moor, UK. South West Equine Protection (SWEP) has been called in to investigate after it was alleged that the animals, which are classed as semi-feral, were being allowed to starve by their owners. Five pony corpses were found on the moor during February Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images A burrowing owl perches in front of Greenpeace activists who were arrested for raising an inflatable model of a wind turbine in front of Congress in Brasilia, Brazil Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters A crocodile on a river bank in the Bundala nature reserve in Sri Lanka. Crocodiles can live in a variety of wetlands – from salty coastal flood plains to freshwater lakes and rivers Photograph: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images Salmon leaps in the river Etterick in Selkirk, Scotland. China's appetite for Scottish farmed salmon is threatening dwindling stocks of sea trout and wild salmon, according to conservationists Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images A large flock of starlings swoops off the coast of Brighton, UK Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images A sea lion at the Ojo de Liebre lagoon in Guerrero Negro, Mexico. The coastal lagoon is located in the middle of the Baja California peninsula forming part of the El Vizca no Biosphere Reserve Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AP