A newly hatched chick cuddles up to its mother at Santee Lakes near San Diego, California in May 2023. (Photo by Tammy Kokjohn/Solent News)

A killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) chick on sand dunes in Pacific Grove, California, US on June 21, 2023. The killdeer gets its name from its shrill, loud call. (Photo by Rory Merry/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A pelican on a lake in California in the first decade of January 2024 deftly snares a large trout after scooping it up, tossing it into the air and catching it in its bill. (Photo by Jiahong Zeng/Solent news)

A baby elephant gives himself a dust bath in Kruger National Park, South Africa early November 2022. (Photo by Sylvie Failletaz/Solent News)

An alligator devours a fish carcass he stole from a raven in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida on November 24, 2022. The Big Cypress Swamp is a freshwater swampland located near the Everglades National Park. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Dalmatian pelicans on Lake Kerkini in Greece captured over the space of one week (16-21 January 2023) by tour guide photographer Sean Weekly. The Dalmatian pelicans resemble the winged dinosaur pterodactyl as they swoop, splash and feed in the waters of Lake Kerkini in Greece. With wings outstretched, and colourful faces and beaks on display, the birds appear to be in paradise, with the awe-inspiring Kerkini mountains as a mesmerising backdrop. (Photo by Sean Weekly/Animal News Agency)

A starling jealously guards a seed station in the back garden of the photographer’s Michigan home in January 2024. (Photo by Lisa Cavanary/Solent News)

While many of us would pay good money for a spa mud bath, these fortunate hippos in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia, have nature to thank as they take a plunge in a lagoon in the second decade of February 2024. (Photo by Dimitar Nedelchev/Solent News)