A squirrel and lizard both refuse to give way in an unlikely standoff on a wall in Mohali, India in the first decade of February 2024. (Photo by Anuj Jain/Solent news)

Squirrels are seen on a tree branch at a park as temperatures rise with the arrival of spring season in Ankara, Turkiye on March 27, 2024. (Photo by Evrim Aydin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In more “raccoons are getting more like us” news, a drunk raccoon was found in a liquor store in Virginia, US in the first decade of December 2025. The animal had got into the shop via some loose ceiling tiles, knocked bottles of spirits off the shelves, lapped up the contents and passed out in the toilets. Once it had sobered up, it was released back into the wild – no doubt with a crashing hangover. (Photo by AP Photo)

M42 Subtle V1 cropped. One of the most well-known astronomical objects in our universe is the Orion Nebula and this image depicts the wider region of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that is its home. This complex also includes another popular target for astrophotographers, the Horsehead Nebula, as well as Barnard’s Loop and the Running Man Nebula, which can be seen to the left of this photograph. (Photo by Patrick Gilliland)

A man holds his umbrella during snowfall on the Areopagitou pedestrian street beneath the Acropolis hill during snowfall in Athens, Greece, January 10, 2017. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)

This breathtaking view from the world's tallest building shows a thick blanket of smoggy fog smother Dubai. The mist almost completely covers the huge sculptures which dominate the skyline. And the spectacular view from the Burj Khalifa – standing at a staggering 828 metres tall – shows the city engulfed by the thick fog. And the smoggy fog reaches heights of up to 400 metres as it rises above the impressive skyscrapers in Dubai. (Photo by Bjoern Lauen/Solent News/SIPA Press)

This bat gives a cheeky smile as he gobbles down his food at Singapore Zoo, on September 10, 2013. (Photo by Benny Iskander/HotSpot Media)