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A bookworm bear, an angelic spider and a bald hedgehog: the week's best wildlife photographs

The Guardian's weekly gallery of the best wildlife photographs from around the world is back, and this week's cast is a small joy: a bear with distinct bookworm energy, a spider photographed in a pose best described as angelic, and a hedgehog photographed without its prickles — bald, unbothered and entirely itself. The week-in-wildlife gallery is a standing appointment for photographers working everywhere from back gardens to remote reserves, and its selections mix the majestic with the faintly ridiculous: animals mid-sneeze, mid-leap and mid-mischief. No rankings, no records, nothing at stake — just the planet's wildlife, caught being wonderful, one frame at a time.

The upbeat factora reading bear, a saintly spider and a prickle-free hedgehog — proof the natural world has a sense of humour.
✓ Verified · The Guardian · 2026-10-23 · UK
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