LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish. The photographs, taken off the coast of Isla Mujeres, near Cancun, Mexico, show how these water creatures work cooperatively to cut off a portion of a school of sardines swimming close to the seafloor, and drive them to the surface. American photographer Doug Perrine, 60, managed to capture the moment the sailfish manage to herd the bait into a tightly packed ball, ready to pick off for dinner one-by-one. ‘The sailfish took-turns swimming through the bait ball slashing with their bills to kill the fish, which are quickly gobbled up,’ Doug said. ‘Sometimes they light up or change to a bright colour pattern.
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .
A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .
A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .
A diving guide leaves a shark completely docile and balanced in the palm of his hand .
WIDE EYED and staring straight down the lens of the camera, this intrigued seal is ready for his close up .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .