Pictures of the year: lions, tigers and bears

In 2008, we saw many gregarious¹ animals showing off for the cameras, which is why we must tip our hats to the more bashful wild animals, like this Hungarian owl².

Conchita, the three-week-old white-naped mangabey monkey at London Zoo, was found protection in the form of an old teddy.

But the bashful animal of the year just has to be this giant panda cub³, who played peek-a-boo with the photographers.

We considered giving the 'wildest animal' award to Yachan, the black belt ninja ape.

Then we remembered the tough hen that scared an eagle so he'd never return to eat her.

But our winner is Aman, the 20-year-old orangutan who had his eyesight restored after 10 years of blindness. He looked in the mirror, saw his cheeks and went ballistic!