PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner. The adult barn swallow arrives and hovers in mid-air, with an insect hanging from its beak. The six-legged treat is then delivered directly into the young bird’s open mouth, with the mother bird still hovering above. Wildlife photographer Menno Schaefer, of Zaandam, Netherlands, captured the moment during a trip to an open field in Spaarnwoude, a village north of Amsterdam.
CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls.
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin.
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals.
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive.
With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano.
Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest.
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail.
FROM THE world famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting to a jaguar in the grass, these incredible drawings are created from coloured ballpoint pens.
A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post.
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync.
THIS is the shocking moment a clumsy radio newsreader plunged into a freezing canal while texting her boyfriend instead of looking where she was going.
With their guts spewing and eyes hanging out, these are the cuddly toys children might be reluctant to curl up to.