If you want to see great apes in the wild, Sumatra’s rainforest is one of the most accessible places to do just that. Seeing orangutans in the wild, along with silver Thomas leaf monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, and a diverse range of birds like hornbills, will leave you with a renewed appreciation for the beauty and ingenuity of other species.

Regular viewers of our Video Spotlight feature will already know that we’re big fans of David Attenborough. This week, it’s our pleasure to bring you something ever so slightly different. Think of it as an early Christmas present to those of you that celebrate it and if you don’t, this is still something that absolutely everyone can (and should) enjoy.

Maliau Basin is one of the world’s finest remaining wilderness areas. It encompasses over 390 square kilometres of pristine rainforest in the south-central part of Sabah, Borneo, in Malaysia. The rainforest is so dense that less than 50 percent of it has ever been explored. Today, the Maliau is awaiting UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

On the occasion when this picture was taken, we were visiting the Addo National Park, staying at Gorah Elephant Camp, one of the luxury camps found within the park, and were on an afternoon safari. We came across these lions a few hundred meters from the camp. They were on their way to the camp to overnight with two other lionesses and the big dominant male.

When it’s summer, the tourist migration to the Mediterranean’s famed beaches is at its height. However, there’s an older guest who has lived here for the past 95 million years and needs our help: the marine turtle. Saving the marine turtle just may be one of the few things the international community can agree on these days, especially steps taken toward turtle conservation through tourism.

The vicuña is an Andean camelid. While it can be found living wild in Bolivia, Chile and parts of Argentina, this creature is most closely associated with Peru as it is the country’s national animal, appearing on its coat of arms. The Pampas de Tocra of Peru are home to a large proportion the vicuña population of Colca Canyon and once a year the local people celebrate a vicuña festival called Chacu.

Barra de Potosí is a small coastal village at the mouth of a lagoon, part of a complex and interdependent system of lagoons, which runs along the coast of the Municipio de Petatlan in Mexico. The people of Barra de Potosí are now confronted by and opposing a development project that they believe will destroy the existing ecosystem. The fight is proving to be a difficult one, and the people can use all the help they can get.

This photograph flawlessly captures two cheetahs standing ready and vigilant in the rays of another remarkable day in Tanzania. Distinctively the fastest moving land mammal, these incredible cats are capable of achieving speeds in excess of 70 mph (110 kph) in pursuit of prey.