The year’s most interesting, adorable animals

A monkey walks over prayer flags at the Saraswati temple on the occasion of Basanta Panchami in Kathmandu, Nepal.  (Prakash Mathema / AFP/Getty Images)

Soap bubbles of a street artist float next to two dogs in Piazza del Popolo in Rome.  (Tiziana Fabi / AFP/Getty Images)

A solitary deer stands in a snow-covered field at the deer farm in Michniowiec, Poland.  (Darek Delmanowicz / EPA)

Indian Border Security Force dog squad personnel take part in a march during Republic Day celebrations in Jammu.  (Alok Pathania / AFP/Getty Images)

A six-and-a-half month old koala joey sits on mother Eora’s back at Duisburg Zoo in Germany.  (Frank Augstein / Associated Press)

Seven-week-old Chihuahua pup Carlo sniffs at a luxury bowl with hundreds of Swarowski stones and four-carat gold at the Birgit Winkler minizoo in Leipzig, Germany.  (Waltraud Grubitzsch / EPA)

A dog crosses Sixth Avenue in the snow in New York City.  (Andrew Gombert / EPA)

A flamingo grooms its feathers at the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany.  (Boris Roessler / EPA)

A female snowy owl rests on a ledge beside the Washington Post building in Washington, D.C.  (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press)

A man looks at his dog as he takes part in the 4th Super Naam Yoga Class held along Reforma Avenue in Mexico City.  (Yuri Cortez / AFP/Getty Images)

A dog sits inside a soft kennel for sale displayed at the counter with the pet-friendly gadgets at an outdoor market in Minsk, Belarus.  (Viktor Drachev / AFP/Getty Images)

A dog named Caique wears a hat and shirt on Arpoador Beach in Rio de Janeiro.   (Felipe Dana / Associated Press)

Giant panda bear cub Bao Bao is a ball of black and white fuzz at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.  (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Twelve-day-old Frodo, the first Western chimpanzee born in Warsaw’s zoo, is held by mom Kimberly.  (Tomasz Gzell / EPA)

A woman brings her dog to be blessed by a priest at St. Nicolas church in Pamplona, Spain, during the annual blessing of the animals.   (Alvaro Barrientos / Associated Press)

A Papillon runs an obstacle course during a news event at New York’s Madison Square Garden to promote the first Masters Agility Championship at the 138th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.  (Timothy Clary / AFP/Getty Images)

A keeper counts penguins as part of the London Zoo’s annual census.  (Oli Scarff / Getty Images)

A chimpanzee named Paulinho eats a fruit pop at the city zoo in Rio de Janeiro.   (Silvia Izquierdo / Associated Press)

The French Alps form a backdrop for swans at sunset on Lake Geneva.  (Fabrice Coffrini / AFP/Getty Images)

A female orca whale breaches in Puget Sound near Bainbridge Island, Wash.  (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

A ring-tailed lemur eyes an abacus at Whipsnade Zoo, northwest of London.  (Carl Court / AFP/Getty Images)

A peacock displays its feathers at Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park.  (Lakruwan Wanniarachchi / AFP/Getty Images)

An arresting cat pauses near a defaced presidential campaign poster of Egypt’s ousted President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo.  (Amr Nabil / Associated Press)

Kumbuka is outnumbered 1 to 3 by females at the London Zoo. The male Western Lowland gorilla checks out the chalkboard in his enclosure during the zoo’s annual count of its animals.  (Oli Scarff / Getty Images)