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.
STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .
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 .
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .
SNOWBOARDING in your £2,000 wedding dress sounds like a nightmare for most brides .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
MEET the underwater British seal who is so friendly he loves to grapple divers like a friendly puppy dog .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .