Animal Tracks

A guinea pig named Oreo sits in the grass at the San Francisco Zoo.

A white-tail fawn being weaned by its mother looks up after grazing in a residential yard in West Lake Hills, Texas. The central Texas drought has further emboldened wildlife to seek food nearer humans.

A penguin cools off in the water in the enclosure at the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany.

Two seals swim together after they were set free in the German Waddensea off the island of Juist, Germany, on Aug. 6, 2009. A total of 71 abandoned young common seals were reared at the seal station this season.

A man waits for customers for an elephant ride in Jaipur, India.

Two flamingos search for food in the outdoor enclosure at Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna.

Polar bear Knut takes a bath in his outdoor enclosure at the zoo in Berlin, Germany. According to a German newspaper, Knut will soon cease to be alone, as polar bear Gianna from Munich is to be his partner. However, neither of the two zoos has confirmed the information as yet.

Lions Aquiles and Helena walk next to some of their cubs at the Parque Lecoq Zoo in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Kalli looks out of a basket on board a vessel in Norddeich, Germany. Five baby seals, which have been raised in the seal-breeding station in Norddeich, will be returned to the wild.

Native ducks move toward a pond in a farming village in Temanggung, Central Java. The poultry industry is picking up in Indonesia following preventive measures over avian flu.

After a trip from San Jose, Calif., to Vacaville, Calif., Katie, left, gives trailer mate Buddy a peck on the cheek while their owner stops to grab some lunch.

A pelican is pictured in its enclosure on a sunny day at Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria.

Gana, a mother gorilla, holds her young baby in their enclosure at the zoo in the western German city of Muenster. The baby, named Claudia, was born a day earlier at the zoo.

A newborn Asian elephant stands with other members of its herd at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Whipsnade, England.

Buckley, the 9-year-old beaver at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash., nibbles on a fruit, veggie and juice popsicle to cool down during the 100-plus degree weather.

Polar bears play in the water in their enclosure on a sunny day at the Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria.

A 2-month-old albino wallaby, born in captivity, stands with another wallaby in their enclosure at a private zoo in the district of Paphos, Cyprus.

David Lawrence talks to Pete the moose in Irasburg, Vt. Pete was raised by 73-year-old Lawrence, who nursed the then-newborn moose back to health after Pete had been injured by dogs.
A monarch butterfly is covered with droplets of water while resting in a cooling mist spray in the butterfly pavilion at the Elkton Community Education Center in Elkton, Ore.
A 12-day-old hippopotamus swims next to its mother, Chombi, at Malaysia's National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur. The baby hippopotamus has not yet been given a name.

MSNBC.com