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Image: GERMANY-ANIMALS-WEATHER-HEDGEHOG

Pets

Animal Tracks: Dec 12 - 18

From a hedgehog having dinner to a panda playing in the snow, get your cuteness fix with adorable animals both big and small.

/ 14 PHOTOS
Image: A dog stands in the snow at a park in Jerusalem

Ready for winter

A dog stands in the snow at a park in Jerusalem on Dec. 12. Snow fell in Jerusalem and parts of the occupied West Bank where schools and offices were widely closed and public transport was paused.

Amir Cohen / X02077
Image: Flamingos stand in their enclosure during snowfall in winter in Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo

Flakes and flamingos

Flamingos stand in their enclosure during a winter snowfall in Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo on Dec. 12.

Baz Ratner / X02483
Image: GERMANY-ANIMALS-WEATHER-HEDGEHOG

Bulking up

A hedgehog helps itself to dog food on a wooden terrace in Lengenfeld, southern Germany, on Dec.13. As days are getting shorter and colder, hedgehogs seek out additional food to gain pre-hibernation fat.

Nicolas Armer / DPA
Image: A pair of 10-day-old sibling lion cubs are seen in their play area at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park animal care center in San Diego, California

Siblings snuggle

A pair of 10-day-old sibling lion cubs cuddle in their play area at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park animal care center in San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 16.

The brother and sister, whose mother Oshana was not giving them the attention they need to thrive, are receiving bottles of formula every two hours from animal care staff, according to the zoo.

Handout / X80001
Image: An Arabian horse named Nasam Al Wahat runs during a training session on a beach in Benghazi

Pageant training

An Arabian horse named Nasam Al Wahat runs during a training session on a beach in Benghazi on Dec. 14. Arabian horses are being trained on a regular basis in preparation for horse beauty contests.

Esam Omran Al-fetori / X02867
Image: COLOMBIA-ANIMALS-MONKEYS-CONSERVATION

Warming up

A volunteer carries a baby red howler monkey during its recovery at the Santa Fe Zoo in Medellin, Colombia, on Dec. 17. The zoo released eight monkeys, who were part of a wildlife conservation program after they were torn away from their families in the forests and sold by traffickers to travelers within the country, back into the wild. The red howler monkeys are an endangered species, which makes them attractive to wildlife traders.

Raul Arboleda / AFP
Image: A flock of birds fly near the sea on a winter day in Sidon, southern Lebanon

Soaring

A flock of birds flies near the sea on a winter day in Sidon, southern Lebanon, on Dec. 13.

Sharif Karim / X01301
Image: Newt on the Road

Why did the newt cross the road?

A rough-skinned newt pauses while crossing a country road along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural southwestern Oregon on Dec. 15. The rough-skinned newt is one of the most toxic animals known to science. One study estimated as many as 25,000 mice could be killed using the toxin in one newt.

Robin Loznak / ZUMA Wire
Image: Elk are fed grass at Hardware Ranch outside the town of Hyrum in northern Utah

Snacking on grass

Elk are fed grass at Hardware Ranch outside the town of Hyrum in northern Utah on Dec. 15. The 19,000-acre ranch is run by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and feeds up to 600 herds of elk during the winter months.

Jim Urquhart / X02779
Image: Geese look for food in a snowy field in Guilford, Connecticut

Three's company

Geese look for food in a snowy field in Guilford, Conn., on Dec. 15.

Carlo Allegri / X02452
Image:

Naughty or nice

Dogs Maggie and Dobie visit with Santa at a Dallas PetSmart on Dec. 14. Now in its 27th year, the Santa Claws photo event raises money for animal welfare groups.

Richard W. Rodriguez / AP Images
Image: A four-year-old white lion Semuel is seen at the zoo in Tbilisi

White lion

Four-year-old white lion Semuel is seen at the zoo in Tbilisi, South Africa, on Dec. 16. Four white lion cubs were born at the zoo on Dec. 10, but only three survived.

The white lions, which are only found in the Timbavati nature reserve in South Africa, are not albinos but a genetic rarity, according to the zoo.

David Mdzinarishvili / X01222
Image: A giant panda plays after snow at a zoo in Kunming

Snow angel?

A giant panda plays in the snow at a zoo in Kunming, China, on Dec. 16.

China Daily / X01745
Image: GERMANY-ANIMALS

Open wide

A nandu bird is pictured on Dec. 12 in Gernany's Krefeld Zoo.

Roland Weihrauch / DPA
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