A koala leads the way as a number of Australian animals play among Easter eggs ahead of this Easter weekend. The images are released by the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, New South Wales.

The World Health Organization has recommended halting sales of live wild animals to avoid transmitting diseases. Australia will not buy J&J vaccine. England starts Moderna rollout. Follow DW for the latest.

Armed with giant testing swabs, a group researchers are testing camels in the Kapiti natural reserve, in southern Kenya, in a bid to better understand Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. MERS is a far deadlier cousin of Covid-19 which has long circulated in camels, that scientists fear could cause the next global pandemic if it mutates into a form which is more contagious to humans.

Rome's zoo distributes frozen fruit to animals to help them cope with high temperatures and to ensure they get enough sugar in their diet.

Tortoise callipers and camel scales are put to good use at ZSL London Zoo, which is holding its annual animal weigh-in. While keepers put on a show for the cameras, it is important that the zoo keeps up-to-date size and weight information on its animals to compare them with animals in the wild and in other zoos, as well as to have an indication of which animals are pregnant.

The European Union should intensify efforts to phase out the use of animals in scientific research, lawmakers have said in a resolution.

ZooTampa in Florida vaccinates a skunk with a specific vaccine developed exclusively for animals. The zoo in Tampa has begun to vaccinate animals who have been identified as most susceptible to Covid-19. The use of the special vaccine, which was developed exclusively for animals by the Michigan-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis, has been used for vaccinating those species that are known to be more vulnerable to contracting the virus in other zoological organizations throughout the United States. ZooTampa says it has received a shipment of approximately 220 doses – enough to vaccinate roughly 19 species which includes 93 animals such as Florida panthers, skunks, otters and primates.

Advances in genetic engineering are reviving the idea of de-extinction, or whether to bring back extinct animals to try to save endangered ecosystems. But is it really a good idea? What would be the unforeseen consequences of such an act? We speak to Ben Lamm, CEO of the American startup Colossal, which has just raised $15 million to revive the woolly mammoth.

Lawmakers in France have approved new animal rights legislation making it illegal to purchase, breed or sell wild animals for traveling circuses.

In South Africa, blockchain pioneers developed a crypto platform that allows users to trade unique electronic artworks. Part of the price is donated to conservation projects, which help save endangered animals.

Libyan sisters Ibtisam and Rabia Bin Omran drive their car everyday to reach more than 150 dogs and cats which they feed and shelter in Benghazi.

Birds are the only dinosaurs to survive the mass extinction event 65 million years ago. Frogs & Salamanders: These seemingly delicate amphibians survived the extinction that wiped out larger animals. Lizards: These reptiles, distant relatives of dinosaurs, survived the extinction.